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“What are you two doing here?” I looked at Kyle then down at Epiphany. They stood at my front door, looking as if they were waiting for the other to speak. “What is it? . . . Epiphany . . . What’s going on?” I could tell from their faces something was wrong, but neither one of them said a word. They just stood there like tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber.
“Katie, we need to talk to you.” That was Kyle hiding behind a gigantic pair of COACH Sunglasses. I’m sure they’re fake.
When Epiphany asked, “Aren’t you going to invite us in?” I didn’t answer her. I turned my back and headed through the foyer, leaving them both standing there. I was hoping they wouldn’t follow me, but of course, they did.
I headed into the den with Kyle and Epiphany galloping behind me. I grabbed the Cosmo I’d been thumbing through all morning off the coffee table, plopped down on the sofa, and turned on the TV although it didn’t stay on long enough for a clear picture to form on the large screen.
Kyle put her sunglasses on her head when she said, “Katie, we need to talk now.”
Did this bitch really just turn off my television!
I yelled, “Kyle, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
She looked at me before she threw a sealed manila envelope down on the coffee table.
I looked at the envelope then back up into Kyle’s hateful eyes. “What is that?”
“I think you should open it.”
I couldn’t stand to look at her for another second, so I focused my attention on my other sister. “Epiphany, what is this about?”
“Katie . . .”
She stalled.
“Epiphany, what is it?”
“It’s about Eric.”
Now they both had my undivided attention. I scooted to the edge of the sofa as I suddenly felt ill—like I was going to lose my lunch. The room started to spin. Now it was doing cartwheels right along with my stomach.
I wanted to know what was in that envelope, but I wouldn’t dare look for myself. I was too afraid to. I didn’t want to hear that something had happened to my husband. I couldn’t take that. I wouldn’t be able to survive behind it.
“Katie?” When my eyes raked over to Epiphany, she said, “I” —She looked at Kyle, then back at me— “we have something to tell you.”
“Epiphany, what is this about?”
“Why don’t you open the envelope and see for yourself.” That was Kyle.
“Would one of you please just tell me what this is all—”
Epiphany cut me off. “Katie . . . Katie, me and Kyle hired a private investigator.”
I jumped up from the loveseat and screeched, “You what?! Epiphany, repeat what you just said!” When she didn’t answer fast enough, I glared at Kyle. “What in the hell is going on here?!”
Kyle looked right into my eyes. “Katie, look, we’re not here to start trouble, okay. We just . . . Eric, sweetie, something isn’t right with him, and you know that. We all can see it.”
“We all can see what?! Somebody better tell me what is going on, and I mean RIGHT NOW!”
Epiphany took over. She wrung her hands together when she said, “Since the wedding . . . even before the wedding, Katie, it’s been a disconnect with Eric.”
I folded my arms across my chest, my silk kimono robe clinging to my shoulders. I almost laughed when I asked, “Is that what this is about? A disconnect? Eric has been nothing but kind and even loving to you both. I don’t know what else either of you would be looking for from him.” I swooped my hair behind my ear. “Epiphany, hon, if you or Kyle feel some sort of ‘disconnect’ with my husband, you two discuss that during allll of your free time because I don’t want to hear it.”
Kyle raised her voice at least two octaves when she said, “The disconnect is not between Eric and us; it’s between you and Eric, hon.” She took a breath, put her hands on her fat hips, and came back with, “We’re worried, Katie, and so is Mom and Dad. We’re-Mom and Dad . . . we’re worried for you because it seems like the longer you stay with Eric, the more bizarre things become.”
I started waving my hand in her face. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, where is all of this coming from? What is this? What are you and Mom and Dad so worried about from across town? How do any of you know what goes on between Erik and me?”
Epiphany caught me off guard when she snapped, “Do you know what goes on between you and Eric? We may be ‘across town,’ but we see things. We see a lot, Katie, and we just want to make sure you’re okay.”
I sat back down on the loveseat, staring out the patio doors to the pool. My tone was harsh when I asked, “Why are you two here? Why are you doing this?” I tried to hold in all the emotions that were erupting inside of me. I looked up at my sisters when I asked, “Why are Daddy and Mom so worried about me?” I hunched my shoulders, trying to throw them off, but I knew why. Eric and I don’t exactly live as normal husband and wife, and apparently, everyone knows that no matter how hard I try to hide it. The fact that they saw through my perfect life façade feels just as bad as my life being anything but perfect.
I smoothed my hair back with both hands before I asked them to leave.
“Katie, we did this because we love you, and we want to make sure Eric isn’t hiding anything from you.”
I didn’t look at either of them when I said, “I want you both out of here, and I want you out now.”
“Katie, we only met with the PI twice. He found sealed records within the first twenty-four hours of us hiring him . . . sealed records on Eric, I don’t think you know about.”
I stood back up. I had to jump in before this beast continued. “Kyle, did you hear me? I want you and Epiphany to leave! Eric will be home soon, and I want to make sure the house is spotless.”
“You know he’s not coming home later.”
I screamed, “GET-OUT!”
Epiphany reached over and snatched the envelope off the table. She ripped it open in search of the documents inside. “Katie, look . . . This is a sealed report of a diagnosis.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to clear my air passage before I passed out. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I thought, what is she saying? What diagnosis?
“Epiphany, please . . . Put those papers away and leave my house.”
She didn’t listen to me. She kept reading.
“He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and personality disorder when he was twelve. He was prescribed a treatment med called Antipsychotic back in two thousand.”
What the hell was she saying to me? My husband is a doctor. He doesn’t have schizophrenia. If Eric did have any medical conditions, I would be the first to know, right? I’m his wife . . . he tells me everything.
When I picked up my phone and started dialing, Kyle asked, “Katie, who are you calling?”
“The police department. I asked you two to leave, but you’re still here. Now you’re trespassing.”
“Katie, would you just listen to what she has to say?”
Epiphany looked over at Kyle before her eyes were back in my direction. “Let’s just go, Kyle. Let’s give her some time to cool off.”
“Take it all with you . . . all those papers and lies; take your envelope full of bullshit out of here!”
Epiphany mouthed, “I’m sorry, Katie,” before she followed Kyle’s wide back to the front door.
When Kyle turned around and said, “Please call us if you need us,” I fanned my hand at her and said, “Screw you, bitch.”
The artwork on the walls vibrated when I slammed the door. I rushed back to the den and grabbed my phone. I didn’t take a minute to process any of what I just heard. All I want is for Eric to tell me it’s not true. That’s it. I can’t feel anything or take my next breath until he does.
My hands trembled as I dialed Eric’s number. Each ring in my ear felt like daggers making their way through my skull.
“Katie? . . .”
“Eric!”
“Katie, can you hear me?”
Through the static, I yelled out, “Eric! Eric, where are you?!”
“Katie . . . Can you hear me?”