“Sorry, honey,” she replied. “I already checked in. You know Angie, who works with me? She didn’t want to stay alone, so I’m sharing a room with her.”
Troy was pissed because he suspected she wouldn’t be spending the night with Angie. He also doubted she’d be getting much sleep.
“I’ll come get you,” he fired back.
“Get me? No, no,” Dana replied. “There’s no need. I’ll just stay here.”
“Ok, then,” Troy gave up. “What room are you in?”
“What?”
“What room are you in?”
“Why?”
“I’m going to join you,” he said. “I’ll bring you something to sleep in and a change of clothes for tomorrow.”
“You can’t!” she blurted out.
“Why not?”
“Uh, because I’m sharing the room with Angie,” she explained. “You can’t sleep here with her in the room. She’d be too uncomfortable.”
“Then let her have the room to her self, and you come home with me.”
“I promised her I’d stay.”
“Ok, then tell me the room number, and I’ll bring you the change of clothes,” Troy said.
“You don’t need to go to all that trouble, honey,” Dana argued. “I’ll just wear what I have on two days in a row. It’ll be alright.”
“Yeah, right,” Troy replied snidely. “I get the distinct feeling you don’t want me there. Are you hiding something from me?”
“Don’t be silly, of course not,” she responded with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
“Look, for the first time in our marriage, you go to a work party and don’t tell me, you don’t answer your phone for hours, then you tell me you’re staying in a hotel ten minutes from me and won’t let me come see you. That’s not normal behavior, and it is certainly not the behavior of a happily married woman. What’s going on, Dana?”
“Nothing’s going on,” she answered, but added nothing else.
Troy waited, expecting more, but when Dana failed to explain, he pressed her harder.
“Are you cheating on me?” he asked, already sure of the answer.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Dana replied. “You think I’m having an affair with Angie?”
“No, not with Angie,” Troy corrected her. “But maybe with someone else. I mean, how do I know you’re really sharing the room with her anyway? It could be anyone, some guy you picked up at the bar, hell, it could be your boss for all I know.”
“That’s not even funny, Troy,” Dana replied, sounding insulted. “I’m going to hang up now.”
“You’re hiding something!” Troy declared before she could hang up.
“I’m not hiding anything!” Dana snapped back. “I called to tell you what’s going on. I told you everything. I’m not hiding a goddammed thing!”
“Really? Because you still haven’t told me your room number! Why not? Afraid I’ll show up and intrude on your little lover’s rendezvous?”
“I said I’m sorry for not telling you about the party. I apologized for not answering the phone. I couldn’t help it, Troy. Sometimes shit happens. Ok? Get over it! I’m not cheating on you. One time I forget to tell you where I am, and you freak the hell out! Do you trust me that little? Do you think our marriage means nothing to me?”
“You’re trying to deflect this on me, Dana,” Troy told her. “It isn’t working. I didn’t do anything wrong. You did. Don’t act like a martyr.”
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