Turning A New Leaf

Twenty-Nine

Brooke came home Monday evening to an empty house. Brad and his car were nowhere to be found, and he wasn't answering the phone. Brooke initially shrugged it off, assuming he may have gone to the gym or for a run and made a light dinner.

As the evening progressed, she began to worry when he didn't show up. His phone was still off. The only explanation she could think of was that he was with another woman. Brad didn't have any friends she could think of to call, and she didn't want to embarrass herself by asking his family if they'd heard from him.

Unfortunately, she couldn't stay up worrying. She had to rest. Her work schedule was loaded on Tuesday. She had TPLO surgeries, surgical repair of luxating patellas on an English Bulldog, and a hind limb amputation on a rescue dog.

Distressed, she showered and went to bed with hopes her husband would be there when we awoke. Of course, Brad was nowhere to be found come daylight, and his phone was clearly turned off.

Brooke dressed in purple scrub bottoms with a floral top and Crocs, threw her hair into a neat bun, ate half a bagel, and left for the day.

She did her best to present a happy, confident face at work for her staff and clients, but it was a struggle to get through the day.

****

Brad was nowhere to be found when Brooke returned home. She was about to call Linda to ask if she'd heard from him when the doorbell rang.

Heart pounding and legs weak, Brooke opened the front door expecting to see an officer on the porch. Instead, she found a short blond woman dressed in a Juicy Couture tracksuit.

"Can I help you?" Brooke asked cautiously.

"Are you Brooke?" The woman wanted to know.

"Yes?" She eyes the unfamiliar woman suspiciously, "Can I help you with something?"

The woman gave a shaky breath, "This is uncomfortable, but my name is Holly. I've been seeing your husband for the last year."

Brooke's hands began to tremble. Holly. She knew the name. "You're his coworker?"

Holly nodded slowly, "Well, I was. Before they let him go for the drugs."

Brooke was floored, "I'm sorry, but what? He told me that he was on PTO."

"Can I come in?" Holly asked, "So we can talk."

With Brad missing and this strange woman at her door, Brooke knew it would be dumb to let her in, but it also seemed like Holly had the answers to all of Brooke's questions.

Against her better judgment, Brooke nodded and stepped aside. She gestured towards the neatly arranged living room. The women sat across from one another, studying each other.

Brooke crossed her legs, hugging a pillow. "Brad was let go from his residency?"

Holly nodded as she fingered a platinum blond ringlet, "He failed his drug test. Tested positive for meth and was given the option of rehab or being let go."

Brooke exhaled shakily, "He told me he was using Adderall. Could that have caused the positive?"

"Well, yeah. However, I know for a fact he was using meth. I've seen him. The night of his brother's bachelors party, he and this Mexican guy came over to my place with meth."