"I'm back!" Liz said when she entered the house. Tamara was not in the living room. So she went to look for her in her bedroom. She found her pacing around the room with her mobile phone in her hand. Liz stood at the door and stared at her for a moment.
"Are you trying to call someone?" Liz asked dropping on her bed.
Tamara touched her face. "Oh, you are back. How long have you been here?"
"Not very long," she said. "Why are you agitated? Did something happen?"
Tamara smirked. "Of course not. What could possibly happen? Nothing happened."
Liz shook her head. "You're so weird today."
"Ha...It's nothing, I swear," Tamara said. "You're over-thinking."
Liz narrowed her eye at her. "Are you sure?"
Tamara sat beside her and held her hand. "I'm okay, seriously."
"Fine. I believe you," Liz said. "Tomorrow Ethan and I are going biking in the mountains. Would you like to join us?"
"Do you already know how to ride a bicycle?" Tamara asked.
"Yeah. Ethan has been teaching me in the past few weeks," Liz said. "I can now ride steadily."
"Wow, that's good," Tamara said. "But I'm afraid I can't join you tomorrow because I don't want to be the third wheel. Tomorrow is your day with Ethan. He is leaving the country the day after tomorrow. You should spend the remaining time with him without me getting in the way."
Liz's brow wrinkled. "Who said you will get in the way? Just come with us. It will be fun."
Tamara sighed. "Don't insist," she said. "Tomorrow is my gift to you. Enjoy it with the one you love. I don't want you to have any regrets."
"But..."
Tamara put a finger on her lips. "Shhh...Don't say anything," she said. "It's settled. Tomorrow you're going to play with Ethan and am not coming along. Period."
"Okay."
"Good," Tamara said then got to her feet. "I'm in the mood of pizza. Let's order some."
Liz nodded. "Yeah. I want pizza too."
They went to the living room together. Tamara ordered pizza online then they watched TV as they waited for it to be delivered.
---
The following day in the morning, Liz passed by Tamara's room on her way out.
"You're still sleeping," she said, staring at her. She took Tamara's notebook and a pen from her dressing table and scribbled something then tore the paper and stuck it on her mirror. "Goodbye, sleepy head," she said then left.
Tamara jumped out of her bed the moment she heard the front door banging after Liz's exit. She looked at Liz's note.
Hey Sunshine,
Breakfast is in the kitchen. Enjoy it.
Have a great day.
Love you,
Liz.
Tamara smiled. "Love you too," she said.
She went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and washed her face then picked her phone and went to the kitchen.
She poured herself tea then sat down and thumbed on her phone.
What happened to you, Dylan? She thought. It's been three days already. Why aren't you answering my calls?
She sipped tea and munched a sandwich then dialed Dylan's number on her phone.
"Please pick up. Please...please," she said as she stared at the screen of her phone.
"Hello," a woman's voice said from the other end.
"Hello, I would like to speak to Dylan," Tamara said.
"Dylan is indisposed," the woman said. "Would you like to leave a message?"
Tamara furrowed her brows. Who's this woman? She pondered.
"Hello, are you still there?" the woman on the other end asked.
"Yeah," Tamara said and paused for a moment then continued. "I don't mean to be rude. Will you please tell me who you are?"
"Ha...I'm Paulina, Dylan's wife."
Liz's heart skipped a beat. "What did you say?"
"I'm Dylan's wife," she said. "Would you like to leave a message?"
"No, thanks," Tamara said then ended the call. She stood up and started pacing around.
"How did I become a mistress?" Tears started rolling out of her eyes. "Dylan, how could you do this to me?"
She went to the living room and dropped into a couch. She grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly. She cried her eyes out.
---
"Did my phone ring?" Dylan asked his wife when he came out of the bathroom.
"Yeah. I received it," Paulina, who was lying on the bed, turned and supported her head with her hand as she waved his phone in the air with the other hand. "It was Tamara."
"What?" Dylan grabbed his phone. "What did you say to her?"
"What's with the frown? I didn't say anything to her."
Dylan sat and touched his face then stared at the ceiling.
Seeing that, his wife rose and knelt behind him then put her hands on his shoulders. She rubbed and pressed the muscles around that area.
He pushed her away. "What are you doing?"
"Giving you a massage to relieve your stress."
He glared at her. "Who said I'm stressed?"
He quickly dressed up, picked his phone and left.
His wife got out of bed and wore a bathrobe then rushed after him.
"Dylan, where are you going?"
"Bang!" The door closed in her face.
Dylan went into his car and tried calling Tamara but all his calls went unanswered.
---
"You're now a pro," Ethan said as Liz rode past him.
She looked over her shoulder and smiled. "It's thanks to you," she said. "Let's race."
"Are you sure?" Ethan said. "I won't go smoothly on you, you know."
"Bring it on!" Liz said throwing her hand in the air.
"Okay, let's go!"
It was late in the evening when they rode back to where Ethan's car was parked. Ethan loaded the bicycles into the boot, then they set out to the city.
"Today was great," Liz said as they neared their apartment building. "I really had fun."
"Me too," Ethan said.
"What time is your flight?"
"9 a.m."
"Do you want me to accompany you to the airport tomorrow morning?" she asked.
"No," he said.
Liz frowned. "No?"
He looked at her then stopped the car. "Babe, look, I don't want you to accompany me to the airport because it will be difficult for me to say goodbye to you. With you by my side, I might even decide not to go."
"That can't happen," Liz said. "I don't want to be blamed for standing on the way of your progress. You will go to London and I will be here waiting for you."
"I promise that I will work hard and make you proud," he said.
She stared at him. "Huh, I know you will."
"Hey, don't look at me like that," Ethan said. "You'll make me lose my restraint."
"How am I looking at you?" She leaned towards him and planted a kiss at the corner of his lips.
When she was sitting up, he pulled her towards him and kissed her on the lips. The kiss was long, deep and passionate. It ignited a fire in her that only he could quench. When he let go of her, her face was flushed.
***