IT’S OVER
When Crystal arrived home, the first thing she did was check the messages on her answering service. There was one from Lange. They had not had a chance to talk since the day he came over and Roger was there. She wanted to call him, but had gotten caught up at work. She didn’t want him to be angry with her for having Roger over, especially when it was obvious that he stayed the night. She knew she shouldn’t feel this way, because it wasn’t like they were a couple. After all, he was married, she was not. She had to keep telling herself this.
“I’m sorry for the way I ran off that day. I should know better than to just pop up like that. It was selfish of me to think you would be available at the drop of a dime. I need to see you. Some events have taken place, and well, I need to talk to you. Call me at home.” He left his number and then there was a click.
He needed to speak with her, not wanted to but needed to, and on top of everything else, he’d left his home number. She didn’t know if she felt comfortable calling him at his house, but since he’d left the number, it must be okay. Crystal picked up the phone and dialed his number.
“Hello.” It was Lange.
“Lange. Hi, it’s Crystal. I got your message. Is everything okay? It sounded important.”
“Are you busy?” Lange asked.
“No, I just walked in the door.”
“Are you alone?”
“Yes.”
“Do you mind if I stop by?”
“Come on. I’ll be here.”
They hung up.
Crystal wondered what was going on. Lange didn’t sound like himself. She wondered if he’d found out about Lena’s affair or if Lena had found out about them.
“Stop trying to guess and be patient,” she told herself.
Crystal didn’t know what to do with herself until he arrived. She tried to sit down and relax, but it didn’t work. She found herself glancing toward the door every few minutes.
“Stop it,” she told herself. “You’re getting yourself all worked up and it could be something petty.” But she knew it wasn’t.
“Billie!” she called out. She decided to take him for a short walk. That way she’d get some of the nervous energy out of her system.
Thirty minutes later, she and Billie were approaching the house as Lange pulled into the driveway. She tried to appear calm, cool and collected as she approached the Jeep.
“Hey there,” she greeted.
“Thanks for letting me come by at the last minute.” He kissed her on the cheek.
“Anytime,” she told him then led the way inside her house.
He followed her through the door into the living room.
“Have a seat. Do you want something to drink?” she asked.
“Rum and Coke.”
Crystal went into the kitchen and returned with a rum and Coke for him, water for her.
She passed him the glass and sat next to him. “What’s causing a brother to drink?”
“Lena and I are separating,” he announced.
Crystal wasn’t surprised. “Why?”
“She had an affair.” Lange put his drink down and dropped his head. “She’s been having one for quite some time, actually.”
“How did you find out?”
“She told me.”
“She told you?” That was the last thing Crystal expected to hear.
“Yeah, and you know what?”
“What?”
“I kind of suspected it all along.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, women aren’t the only ones with intuition, you know.”
Crystal stood up and told him she’d be back. Heck, she needed a drink as well. When she returned with her drink in hand, he continued, “Our marriage has actually been falling apart for quite some time. I think we were both in denial.”
“I don’t know what to say, Lange.”
“There isn’t anything to say.”
Crystal could see that Lange was hurt, and she knew that all she could do was be there for him. “What exactly did Lena say to you? If you’re willing to share.”
“She said we have to talk. Now, when a woman says we have to talk, you know it’s something serious. Im mediately, I thought she knew about us or maybe suspected something. So, we decided to talk over dinner. She picked our favorite spot.”
“When did all this happen?” Crystal asked. She wondered if it happened before the day he popped up.
“The night before I came over here and you had company.”
Crystal ignored his snide remark.
“Anyway, she asked me if we could have an honest conversation. Of course I told her yes. She asked me if I was happy. I told her I was comfortable and content, that happiness comes and goes. She went on to tell me she’s not happy anymore, and that she’s not even comfortable. She said she doesn’t like her life, where she’s at or where she’s going. That this was not the life she had planned. Then she blurted out she wanted a separation.”
“Damn, just like that?”
“Not exactly. I mean, we exchanged dialogue but that was the gist of it.”
“How did that make you feel?” Crystal wanted so bad to wrap her arms around him.
“Surprised, maybe a little hurt, even a sense of relief. I mean, if I were all that happy, you and I wouldn’t have made love. So of course, me being a man asked her if there was someone else.”
Crystal almost feel off the couch. “And?”
“She told me there was, but that her wanting a separation had nothing to do with this person. She just needed to come clean with me.”
“Wow! That was bold.”
“As much as I wanted to be angry and cause a scene, I couldn’t. I had no right to, but I’ll tell you what. I feel like I’ve failed. When I first knew the marriage was in danger, I should have stepped up to the plate, suggested counseling or something.”
“It’s not too late for that.” Crystal was trying her damnest to be a good friend, but that shit was easier said than done, especially when her attraction for him was involved. She wanted to say, “Forget about her. You can have me.” But could he really have her? Would she trust him not to cheat on her? Damn it, friendships become complicated when you put sex in the picture.
Finishing off his drink, Lange told her it was too late. “When I got married, I thought it would last forever.”
“Most people think that.”
“Yeah, well, I believed it.”
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know. What am I supposed to do other than move out of the house I paid for?”
“Is that what Lena wants?”
“Actually, no. She said she’d move out into an apartment or condo until we could figure out what we’re going to do as far as dividing up our assets.”
Crystal didn’t understand. “Then what’s the problem?”
“I can’t allow that. It’s just as much her home as it is mine.” Lange grew quiet and Crystal could tell he was deep in thought. “You know what? When Lena and I first got together we were teenagers, still in high school, actually. I was her first love, her first lover, and I have to admit I wasn’t the most well-behaved back then. She came from a single parent family, her mother was an alcoholic, and I rescued her. She used to say I was her hero, and that’s just what I wanted to be. She told me she lost herself in our marriage, that she never got a chance to grow up.”
“That sounds like a bunch of crap. I believe it’s the woman that allows her individuality to be taken away. We allow ourselves to get so consumed with our partner that we forget about our wants, our needs, and ourselves. The second she realized this, she should have said something,” Crystal said.
“I never held a gun to her head and said do this, do that, don’t do this, don’t do that.”
“Look,” Crystal said, “let’s get to the heart of the matter. Do you still love her? Do you still want to be married to her?” That’s what Crystal wanted to know. That’s what she needed to know.
Lange was honest and said, “I really don’t know. I’m not in love with her anymore, but she’s familiar. You’re single. You know how hard it is to put yourself out there. I don’t think I can go through that process again.”
Trying to ease the mood, Crystal shoved him and said, “Believe me. You won’t have problems with the ladies.”
Lange passed Crystal his glass. “Can I have a refill?”
She took his glass and said, “Listen, I rented a couple of movies. Do you want to watch them with me?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.”