Beyond the Breaking Point: Ten

Cassidy stared in the mirror at her bloodshot eyes, sallow-looking skin with its underlying pallor, and the dark raccoon-like circles under her eyes. “Ugh! This is not the face of a woman ready to move on with her life,” she told her reflection. “The past is over. Quit beating yourself up over what you should have or could have done differently. It’s a waste of time.” She pointed at the mirror. “You have to return to work on Monday. If you don’t want people all up in your business, get a grip. No one seeing this face will believe you just spent a week vacationing in sunny Florida.”

She felt like fool talking to herself, but the mini-pep talk helped put her into a more positive frame of mind. The week was already half over and there was so much she still needed to get done. If she thought about it too much, the stress would overwhelm her.

“One step at a time, Cassidy, and one problem at a time. That’s all you can handle,” she reminded herself.

She washed her face and put on a light coat of makeup to boost her self-confidence. Good thing she’d decided against asking anyone for help. She was definitely not looking her best. Besides, she had the hotel for the rest of the week. No one said she had to move everything today. She’d begin with the kitchen, cleaning and organizing the shelves and drawers to her satisfaction and when she finished, she’d move on to the bathroom.

Cassidy opened the mini-fridge but nothing looked appealing. “Okay, so no breakfast for me this morning. Hmm, looks like a stop by Starbucks is in order. Better get hopping.”

She could actually feel her caffeine-deprived system calling out for sustenance. Before the withdrawal headache could kick in, Cassidy plugged in her MP3 player and got busy. She’d organized her belongings the night before and simply needed to load them into the SUV. When she finished, every available space with the exception of the driver’s seat was filled. She paused to wipe the sweat from her face and take a long gulp of water. Then she climbed in and after a quick stop through Starbuck’s drive-thru, made the drive to her new home.

Once at the apartment, one look at the distance she’d have to tote all her belongs had Cassidy palming her phone, fingers posed to call Max.

No, no, no, she admonished herself. You’re a big girl. Leave Max out of this.

Cassidy took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and grabbed the first item. Unloading took longer, but finally she had everything in a pile in the living room. As she worked, her mind replayed the events in Orlando. Maybe if she’d made Phillip come shopping with her, none of this would have ever happened.

That’s foolish thinking, Cassidy. Phillip’s a grown man, not a child. He shouldn’t have to be guarded from making his own mistakes.

He did say Amber caught him sleeping, and she knew from experience that her husband was a sound sleeper. Was she expecting too much? Could any man have resisted if he woke to find a woman’s hand on his cock, disoriented as he must have been?

Yes, Amber was a bitch going after Phillip the way she did. There’s no disputing it, but if you woke to find a man’s hand—hell, even his mouth—on your sex, wouldn’t you knock him away? Besides, you saw the stuff on his computer. What happened in Orlando was only a matter of time coming.

As Cassidy’s common sense and her softer side warred, her kitchen began to sparkle, the shelves and drawers were lined with paper, and all her kitchen items were stored in their proper place.

Once again Cassidy’s hand went to her phone. She needed an unbiased opinion. Wanted the advice and commiserating pat on the back only a true friend, her friend Erika, could offer. But Erika was probably at work. Make that lunch, Cassidy thought, with a glance at her watch.

Erika Horne was also a doctor, but her specialty was pediatrics. She and Erika had met during the rigorous training of residency and had quickly bonded, becoming fast friends. Like Cassidy, Erika was also married. Her husband, David, was an elementary schoolteacher who loved children and was a really nice guy. Together the two had an adorable little girl named Macey. Cassidy’s schedule didn’t allow them to spend a lot of time together but they talked, texted, and emailed every day, keeping current.

She played with the screen, debating. Call or wait? Glancing around at all that still needed to be done, Cassidy decided to wait.

She rubbed her temples in a clockwise motion, rotated her head on her shoulders to loosen the tension knotting the muscles there, and reached up to free her hair from the ponytail. As a doctor, she knew she needed to eat—the rolling in her gut from the caffeine was a constant reminder—but Cassidy was making visible progress and didn’t want to stop. The bathroom shouldn’t take too long, seeing how it was basically clean already. Then she could go get lunch.

It took her another hour to get everything to her satisfaction, but once finished she was pleased with the results. She looked around the apartment. The cable company would be here tomorrow to hook her up, and the first of her furniture deliveries would begin as well. Since both were scheduled to be here in the morning, Cassidy decided she needed to make another run and bring over another carload of items. It’s not like she had anything better to do.

As she was driving, Neyo’s “Make It Work” blasted from her cell phone. Phillip. Cassidy’s hand hovered over the phone. Slowly, she withdrew it.

He called again, and again. Each time she forced herself to let it go to voicemail. Soon he’d no longer be a part of her life. She needed to remember that. Which reminded her, she needed to change her ringtone for him. Maybe she’d download Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats,” or Rhianna’s “Take a Bow.” Yeah, she’d definitely be changing his ringtone to reflect his new status in her life before the day was over.

Cassidy pushed thoughts of Phillip out of her mind as she toted the empty boxes inside her hotel room, filled them again, and reloaded them into her SUV. This time she hauled them up to the apartment and left them in their appropriate area. It would give her something to do tomorrow while she waited.

At the elevator, Cassidy reached for her phone again, and this time she didn’t stop herself from sending Erika a text. I’m home. Need a shoulder. Dillan’s tonight @ 8?

Before she reached her vehicle, her phone rang. “Hel—”

“What are you doing home? You’re supposed to be sunning in sunny Florida! I was looking forward to my souvenir,” Erika demanded.

“Change of plans,” she said brightly, not wanting to get into it over the phone. “So, you free?”

There was silence on the other end. Then Erika asked in a quiet voice, “Cassidy, what’s wrong?”

Cassidy leaned against her SUV, blinking rapidly against sudden tears. Where’d they come from? “I left Phillip. I spent today moving into my new apartment,” she said, dropping the artificially cheerful voice.

“Scum-sucking bastard! Whatever happened, I know it was his fault. Listen, let me call Dave and arrange for him to pick up Macey. They can have a father/daughter night while you and I hang out. Deal?”

“Deal. And Erika, thanks.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

Less than ten minutes later, Erika called again. “Can you meet now? Dave said it would be no problem, and for us to take as long as we want.”

Cassidy glanced down at herself. “I’m a bit grubby from cleaning. Let me go to the hotel and take a shower. Shouldn’t take more than an hour.”

“A hotel! Cassidy Brannon, you know—” She paused, took a deep breath, and then continued in a calmer voice. “I’m going to wait for you to tell me what happened before I begin yelling. An hour’s good. It will give me time to change out of these scrubs and into some jeans. If you arrive before me, get a table for us. You know Dillan’s fills up quickly at night.”

“Will do,” Cassidy promised, feeling better already.

An hour later, a showered and changed Cassidy watched Erika stride through the restaurant’s doors. She waved a hand, catching her friend’s attention. As she neared the table, Cassidy stood and gave the much shorter, Asian woman a big hug. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you.”

“Ditto. Now what the hell is going on?” Erika demanded. She sat and immediately leaned forward, elbows on the table. Her silky black hair swung forward, almost in emphasis.

Cassidy sighed. Now that Erika was here, she didn’t know where to start. At the beginning, she supposed. Erika was familiar with both Max and Amber from the gatherings at Cassidy and Phillip’s home, so she didn’t have to waste time explaining whom anyone was.

Cassidy launched into the story without any embellishments. What happened was bad enough without her adding to it. She stayed on track, ignoring Erika’s outbursts of indignation when she got to the part about Phillip and Amber. Cassidy told her everything except for the part about her and Max having sex. Confession only went so far, even with a friend as good as Erika.

“So to sum up,” Erika said, fire in her slanted doe-brown eyes, “while you were gone, Max’s girlfriend made a play for Phillip and instead of knocking her on her ass, he lay back and took it.”

Erika’s summary forced a bitter chuckle out of Cassidy. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“And then had the nerve to say it wasn’t his fault, that what he’d done wasn’t sex so therefore, technically, he hadn’t been caught cheating,” Erika continued, disdain dripping from every word.

Cassidy raised her virgin strawberry daiquiri that had arrived during the telling in a toast, acknowledging Erika’s brilliance. “Yep, you got it. And I didn’t even have to use big words.”

Erika’s lips lifted into a smile, recognizing Cassidy’s reference to her sometimes too- impressive vocabulary of ten-dollar words, but the eyes remained angry. “So you came home and moved out. What’s next?”

“Divorce,” Cassidy said decisively.

“Good.” Erika nodded her approval. “You have a lawyer?”

Cassidy sighed, relaxed into her seat, and stuck out one leg into a more comfortable position, glad the hard part was over. “No,” she admitted, playing with the decoration in her drink. “My first priority was finding a place and getting my stuff out of the house before Phillip returned.”

Erika pointed her swizzle stick at Cassidy. “I’m still pissed that you didn’t call me and Dave for help.”

Cassidy pushed away the niggling of guilt she felt. “I know, but I wasn’t in any mood to speak with anyone. Not even you. Not then.”

Erika frowned and took a sip of her Pina Colada before waving her hand in benediction, absolving Cassidy of her transgression. “I understand. If it were me and Dave, I probably wouldn’t have been in any state to call either. Have you told your folks?”

“No, just you. Phillip doesn’t even know I’m gone.”

At this tidbit, Erika’s eyes widened with evil glee. Cassidy was surprised her friend didn’t start cackling. “Good. Serves his ass right. When’s he due home?”

Cassidy shrugged. “Don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him. He may be home now. I’ve been letting his calls go to voicemail.”

“I’d say your leaving him gets your point across loud and clear. Now about the lawyer, if you don’t have one, I have a cousin who’s a family lawyer. She’s experienced, a bulldog when it comes to her clients and she just opened her own practice, so she’s hungry for business. You want me to give her a call?”

She shook her head. “Just give me the number. I’ll call.”

After she’d programmed Erika’s cousin’s name and number into her cell phone, they sat silent for a moment. Then Cassidy said, “Since we’re here, we might as well eat.”

“Especially since I told Dave I’d be eating out.”

They spent a few minutes reviewing the menu. They’d placed their dinner order and requested refills on the drinks when Erika leaned forward again, her gaze sorrowful. She placed a hand on Cassidy’s, which rested on the table. “I’m sorry this happened, honey. I know how much you love him.”

Cassidy blinked rapidly to dispel the tears before they could fall. “Yes, I do. I wish I didn’t. It wouldn’t hurt as much.”

“You know I’m all for you getting rid of his ass, but I have to ask, have you thought this through? Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Erika’s expression showed that no matter what Cassidy’s answer, she’d stick by and support her friend, just as she’d always done.

“I’m sure. You can’t love without trust and I’d always be wondering, always be waiting for the next slip-up. I can’t live my life that way,” she said, having given the matter a lot of thought over the last few days.

“I’m here for you. Whenever you need an ear, you know you can call.”

Cassidy squeezed Erika’s hand. “Thank you.”

Erika shrugged. “That’s what friends are for.”