The Sackler Trap

Make Up...Or Else

Enough. I opened the bedroom door and made sure to slam it hard as I exited. I wandered into the living where Eve was sitting on the sofa staring at her phone with a distracted air and Adam was rattling around in the kitchen area just off the living room. The smell of coffee distracted me for a millisecond. God, I needed some of that. But first....

"Hey," I said, coming into the living room.

They both turned to look at me as if I had wandered onto the set of their movie before my cue. I glanced back and forth between the two of them as I slowly advanced into the room.

"Um, I used to get that look," I said, "from my mom right before I was about to get punished."

Eve got up with a sigh. "I seem to be getting in the way..."

Adam snorted slamming a mug down on the counter. "You think?"

"Eve," I said, shaking my head at Adam. "That's...that's not true."

She ignored me and walked out onto the porch. I looked at Adam. He stared at me, his lips thinned unhappily, his chest heaving in anger. I rolled my eyes and strode after Eve, Adam cursing under his breath behind me.

I found her sitting on the wooden bench that looked out into the dense woods where Adam and I had our rendezvous last night. I slowly sank down next her, and she looked over at me wryly. She reached into her bathrobe pocket and withdrew a pack of cigarettes.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked.

I shook my head.

She lit up and blew her first puff of smoke out in a long sigh. "Adam doesn't know jack shit," she said shakily. "He has no idea what he's talking about."

"Eve," I said awkwardly, "I know this none of my business..."

She sighed, another billow of white smoke following the first. "Well, the cat's out of the bag although I don't know how the hell he found out about it." She tapped the ash from her cigarette and looked at me. "I am sleeping with Arthur Blunt."

I did not know what to say so I merely blinked and nodded. "O..okay."

She smiled at me softly. "Yes, he's married. And yes, I was engaged to Erik. But...what Adam doesn't know is, Erik came out to me two months ago." She paused and let me process this information. "It's been over between us for a while." She took a deep breath. "As for me and Arthur...well, I'm not justifying it, but we're both lonely and...we just needed someone."

I felt naïve and silly for asking my next question, but I did anyway. "But what about...what about his wife?"

Eve was staring off into the woods, her lips curled into an ironic smile. "His wife," she whispered. Her eyes looked sad and her mouth twisted. "His wife..." She looked at me. "...is schizophrenic. Like the really bad kind...she tried to kill Arthur. He had to put her in a...special home where she could be looked after. He visits her all the time. But he can't divorce her because..." Eve threw her hand in the air and let it fall to her lap. "...how would that look, you know?" Her eyes were starting to glisten with tears again. "It's just...a mess."

I put a comforting hand on Eve's arm. "Eve, I'm...so sorry," I whispered.

She sniffed. "It started out innocently. He was like a father figure to me, but...I don't know. He's just so classy. He knows how to treat a lady and I wasn't used to that. I know he's too old for me, but I just...fell so, fucking hard!" She broke down and began crying in earnest.

I put my arm around Eve's heaving shoulders and rubbed her back. "God, Eve, I'm so sorry. I don't...I just don't know what to say."

She laughed bitterly though her tears. "He's up there with her now," she said wretchedly. "I know it's his...duty. It just hurts. That's why I thought coming here with you and Adam would be such a lark. You know, digging at Adam keeps me sane. He's like the brother I never had." She rolled her eyes and looked toward the cabin door with disdain. "I can't believe he was such a dick to me while ago!"