"Are you sure that's even a real word?" Landon queried me as I score myself 76 points on a word in Scrabble. I remember my mother teaching me words that rack up points when I was a child.
"You've never heard the word, quixotic?"
He shakes his head, chuckling. "Not all of us were English majors in college." I guess he has a point.
"It's like saying something is too good to be true, like unpractical or unrealistic. For example: Hardin showing up here right now would be quixotic, aka, unrealistic."
"You never know, the snow has died down." I glance out the window for the tenth time in the last hour to make sure the snow hasn't started up again. "I haven't heard from Nora in a while. I should call her once the game is over."
Landon creates the word 'earth' using the T in quixotic.
"Earth? That's the best you could do?" I playfully tease him.
"You know what, how many points was that?"
I count the numbers in my head, internally cheering when it totals as a number much less than mine was. "Fourteen."
He groans loudly and writes the number down on the small paper. "So the score is now... 135 to 215. You're too damn good at this game."
"What can I say?" I shrug like I haven't played this game a million times.
"I'll beat you one of these days."
"The only person who has ever beaten me is my mother, and she taught me how to play, so I wouldn't get your hopes up with that." I laugh to myself at a memory that just resurfaced. "I remember in elementary school we would have recess outside, but if the weather was bad which it always was because we lived in Washington, we would play games inside. There was a huge collection of every board game imaginable: Monopoly, Life, Clue, Chutes and Ladders, literally everything. Anyway, each time we played inside, we would have a Scrabble match similar to a chess match where students would bet their lunch money on who would win. I was known as the reigning champ from third grade until I graduated."
"That's so funny!" Landon holds his stomach. "Kids really bet money on you?"
"Yeah, it was wild! Only for a little while because a teacher found out that there was gambling happening in the school cafeteria."
"I was known as the guy who always had a pencil on him at any time. Literally, kids called me "Leady Landon" like pencil lead. It was humiliating." His face blushes in embarrassment.
"Leady Landon! I love that! Do you have a pencil in your pocket now?"
He pulls a pen out of his pants pocket. "Always."
"Shut up!" I bend over in laughter. My stomach hurts, and tears are pouring out of my eyes.
"You told her the Leady Landon story?" Nora's voice startles us as she pops her head into the kitchen. "The man never leaves without some sort of writing device. I kid you not."
"What are you doing home!?" Landon rushes over to her, but Nora walks straight passed him to Addy in her little carrier sitting on the table. "There's my baby!" She picks up Addy and showers her with kisses all across her chubby cheeks.
"Hellooo!" Landon yells and waves his arms dramatically, halting Nora's showcase of affection with her daughter. "How the hell did you get home?"
"With a car." The corners of her mouth turn up in a smile as Landon rolls his eyes at her smart ass remark.
"The roads aren't bad?" I ask her.
"They aren't good by any means, but they're not terrible. I think the storm's over for the night."
"That's good." Maybe I will see Hardin tonight. It's only 7:30, so maybe he'll come home.
"They're doing a good job plowing everything. New York is good with that shit."
"There's some pasta in that pot if you want some." Landon points towards the large pot on the stove.
"Don't mind if I do." Nora grabs a bowl out of the cabinet. "Tess, how was your special day with Hardin? Why did you need to 'SOS'?"
Landon widens his eyes at his wife because he knows it's a sensitive topic. At this point, at least the day's over so I can't get let down any more. I explain to her everything that happened since I woke up this morning, and it's a fucking mouthful. She listens attentively while enjoying her dinner.
"So he forgot that he was supposed to take off work to spend quality time with you?" Nora asks for clarification, and I nod. "That's ridiculous!"
"I gotta take this. I'll be right back." Landon excuses himself to answer a phone call as Nora continues to berate Hardin. She actually informs me that Hardin called her asking where I was while Landon was driving me back here.
"And he's still at a hotel with this Stacy chick?"
"Yup." I sulk.
"I'm sorry. I wouldn't take it too personally that he forgot. Men don't pay attention to those sorts of things."
"He claims I am more important than his job, yet he leaves me alone for hours to work every day."
"He is a working man, Tessa. What do you expect? Imagine how Landon feels when I work eight hour shifts at the Lookout. Imagine how he felt while you were working long hours planning events."
She makes a point, but it's not the same thing. "I'm at home when I work, so it's not like Hardin never sees me."
"I would just ease up on him a little bit. Forgetting that he promised you a day devoted to the two of you is inexcusable, but you can't be mad at the man for going to his job so he can pay the bills."
"I know." I place my head into my hands in frustration. "I can't help it."
"I get it. Trust me. You just need to talk to him about it."
"I plan on doing it when I see him next. I don't want to have this type of conversation over the phone."
Landon walks back in nonchalantly and rubs his hands on his jeans, a nervous habit that he seemed to pick up from Hardin.
"Who was that, babe?" Nora asks while popping a mint into her mouth.
"Oh, it was my mom." He sits back down, but he looks pale.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just called her before about the... dinner recipe... so she called me back."
"It was delicious." Nora compliments him.
"Thank you, now why don't we watch a movie or something to pass the time by? I'm tired of getting my ass kicked in Scrabble." Landon begins to clean up the board game while Nora and I discuss what movie to watch.
"I'm in the mood for something light-hearted and funny. Let's see what's on TV." Nora scrolls through the channel guide to see if there's anything interesting.
"Oh look, my favorite episode of Friends is on!" Nora laughs and puts it on. I can never watch Friends anymore because it always ties me back to the early days of Hardin and me. We used to watch it all the time together, even though he didn't necessarily enjoy it. Corny shows like Friends were not Hardin's cup of tea, but he enjoyed watching them because he would be spending time with me. It's funny how much effort Hardin used to put in to spend time with me, but now I'm begging for him to take a day off work to hang out. This episode is one of my favorites though. It's the one where Ross and Rachel get together for the first time, and I think this episode had one of the best kiss scenes in the show's history.
"Ross and Rachel are such goals." Nora holds her chest and swoons over these two fictional characters. I can't deny it, they are cute.
We finish the episode, and realize that Grown Ups is on next, so we just stick with that movie. Landon makes us some popcorn to go along with the movie. We spend the next two hours laughing at Chris Rock's mother-in-law, Kevin James' son being terrible at math, and the guy in the body cast getting hit with an arrow in the foot at the end.
"That movie never gets old." Nora claps as the credits roll. I check the time, and it's getting pretty late. I am exhausted after my busy day, but not in the way I'd hoped it would be busy.
"I'm exhausted. I think I'm gonna head to bed." I announce.
"Do you want me to drive you back to your place since the roads are mostly plowed now?" Nora offers.
"Sure."
"Wait!" Landon calls out. "You can't leave yet!"
"Why not?"
Landon's eyes look full of panic. I wonder what's up with him? "I would just rather you sleep here. The roads might still be dangerous."
"They were fine when I drove."
"Tessa, can you go check on Addy while I speak with Nora for a second?" Landon dismisses me, but I'm too exhausted to question his weird behavior. I can hear Nora and Landon whispering as I peek into Addy's bedroom, but I can't make out what he's saying. She's fussing, so I know it's only a matter of time before she starts crying.
When I come back out, Nora is sitting on the couch and Landon is nowhere to be found.
"What's with him?" I ask the woman who knows him best.
"I couldn't tell you. He just gets paranoid sometimes."
"Where is he?"
"On the phone." She says, avoiding my eyes. "Ouch." She grabs her back in pain.
"What's wrong?"
"My back is spazzing. Ow!" She cries out again, clutching her back once more.
"Do you need anything?" I ask desperately to try and help.
"I don't have any... painkillers."
"I have some at my house." I offer her. "I can just quickly drive over and grab it."
"No, I'll go." She shakes her car keys in front of her face. "Landon would kill me if he came back and knew you were on the road."
"Fine." I agree. "Here are my house keys. They are in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom. Top shelf."
"Thank you."
"Are you sure you're okay to drive?"
She nods confidently. "Oh yeah, 100%. I'll be right back. Tell Landon I'm in the bathroom." She scurries out the door and closes it.
Here I am. Alone. Again. It's so quiet that I can hear the blood pumping through my veins. I can hear every little critter or animal making noise outside. I can hear Landon talking faintly. Being alone fucking sucks.
Landon pops back into the living room. "Where's Nora?"
"Bathroom." I tell him, and he buys it. Wow, did that actually just happen? Did I just get away with lying?
"That was Hardin, he needs us to pick him up from the hotel."
"What?"
"There are apparently no rooms left, so he asked if I can pick him up. He tried calling you, but you weren't answering."
"Well, yeah because my phone was charging." I walk over to the counter where my phone rests and power it on. Landon wasn't lying. Hardin has been trying to call me all night, but I've been otherwise occupied.
"You don't have to go pick him up. I can do it." I state.
"Well, you're already here, so we might as well just take my car. Plus, you know me freaking out over the roads. I would rather drive the both of you just in case."
"Okay." I shrug.
"I'm back!" Nora strolls in a lot faster than I thought she would. It hasn't even been five minutes.
"Did you find it?"
"Yes! Thank you! My back feels better already. Where are you two going?" She hands me my house keys.
"To pick up Hardin. It's a long story but I'll tell you later." He quickly throws on his jacket and snow boots. "Come on, I don't want to get trapped in the snow!"
"You should bring Addy. I heard her fussing before I left. She loves car rides and always falls asleep."
"Good idea. I'll go grab her. Tessa get your shoes on." Landon bosses me around. Why is he in such a hurry?
Five minutes later, I'm driving with Landon across the Brooklyn Bridge to get Hardin. I'm not sure how I'm going to start this conversation about my feelings with him, but hopefully it just happens naturally. I'm excited that I can see him and talk about it tonight rather than tomorrow. It'll be such a cathartic release once I get it all out.
"Perfect. She's sleeping." Landon looks in the rearview mirror at his daughter. "I was scared she was going to be up fussing all night."
"That's amazing that being in a moving car helps her fall asleep."
"Yeah, for most babies it's like that. For when you're little one comes, I recommend it."
"I'll keep that in mind." I beam thinking about getting the opportunity to drive my daughter around. It's all happening so soon.
"Here's the hotel." I point to the large Marriott right across from where the event is. "I'll text Hardin that we're here."
"Can you just go in a grab him? I don't want to be parked here for too long, and you know Hardin..." Landon laughs nervously.
"Are you okay? You're acting really strange."
"Just go." He moves his hands in an ushering motion. "Hurry before a cop comes."
"Okay, okay." I step out of the car into the cold, frantic Manhattan ambience. Even though there was just a storm only a few hours ago, people are back out like nothing even happened.
I'm anxious and excited to see Hardin. All I know is once I walk through these doors, I'll have to confront him and possibly get into a fight with him over it. I don't want to fight, but this conversation needs to be done.
I look around the lobby, trying to find my tall tattoo-covered husband. Where is he?
"Tess!" I turn my head to find Hardin approaching me.
"Hardin, hi! Landon's here, so we need to get going." I begin to walk away expecting him to follow me, but he grabs my wrist. From his other hand, he pulls out a beautiful bouquet of white roses. I was not expecting that.
"What's this?" I take them from his hand.
"The beginning of a very long and sincere apology."
Apology! My heart leaps. This is what I have been waiting for.
"Mr. Vance, your room is ready." A man walks over to Hardin and hands him a key card.
"Mr. Vance?"
"I'll explain later. Come." He takes my hand, and escorts me to the elevator. I'm still so confused on what's going on.
"Wait, Landon..." I point back to where Landon was parked, but his car is gone. "What the? Where did he go?"
He smiles at my obvious confusion. "Like I said, I will explain it once we get to our room for the night."
"But I thought there were no rooms left? That's why we were coming to pick you up."
"Vance did me a favor." The elevator door opens and Hardin pulls me in. "We got a room on the top floor."
"The top floor? Like where all the presidential suites are?" Excitement shines in my voice.
"Like I said, I'll explain it once we get there." The elevator door shuts.