Better Off Friends

Chapter 2: Planning

Kate called Leo again at the time they had agreed upon the next evening. She had put Bear to bed, and Mia and Joe were both upstairs in their rooms. And Ned was gone, again.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Leo," she said. She was sitting on the couch with a cup of tea.

"So ... how is everything?"

She sighed, absentmindedly running her fingers through her hair, not caring about what a mess it probably looked like.

"It's not good. He came back this morning hungover, as usual, and then we had a huge argument about his drinking issues and how he's never home. He says he's working, but I highly doubt that. Most of the time when he says he's working late, that's code for him getting smashed, and honestly, I ..."

She took a deep breath, not sure if she was ready to say the words out loud. They had been circling around in her mind for some time, but she had never actually said them because then it would make the possibility of them being true real. She wasn't ready to hear Leo tell her that she might be right.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Leo, I think ... I think he might be cheating on me."

She bit her lip, hating the way the words tasted in her mouth. Leo was silent, which she took to mean that he was thinking the same thing she was, and probably had been since she had first started talking about what was going on with Ned.

"It's just the whole working late thing ... and he's never home. I don't know where he goes! It's just so hard because he used to be so different! He was kind and caring and funny, and he loved both me and my children so much. He used to go to all of Joe's rugby games and sit out in the kitchen with Mia and help her study for exams. I thought I had finally found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but now I feel like I'm trying to hold onto something that's just crumbling in my hands the more I try to fix it."

Her voice broke, and she pressed a hand to her mouth, not wanting Leo to hear her cry.

"Oh, sweetheart ..." he said, and she knew he had heard her anyway, so she just let all of the tears she had been holding in finally come out. "Kate, you have no idea how much I wish I could be there with you right now."

"I wish you were here too," she said through her tears. "Leo, I just wish he would tell me! It's this not knowing that's killing me. If he really is cheating on me, I wish he would just put me out of my misery and tell me already."

"How much do the kids know?"

"They know we're having problems, but I haven't really told them anything specific. They're smart, though. They know."

"Kate, I promise it will be okay, alright? No matter how bad it seems now. You and your kids will make it through this. And sooner than you know it, I'll be there."

She set her mug on the coffee table and pulled her knees to her chest, taking comfort in his reassuring voice.

"Speaking of that, we need to figure out the specifics of your visit. Have you booked a flight yet?"

"Yes! It's two weeks from tomorrow. I get into Heathrow at ... hang on, let me check ... five. And then I'll rent a car and drive to you, so I won't get there until the evening."

"Do you want us to wait for you to eat dinner?"

"No, that's okay. I'll probably just get takeout or something on the way there."

"Alright. Well, I'll touch base with you again before you come, okay?"

"Okay, Kate. Take care of yourself."

"I will," she said quietly.