“You’re home early,” Babsie observed. “What happened?”
“Well,” Sandy sniffed. “Some of my girl friends accused me of being pregnant when the smell of coffee made me feel sick, amongst other things.”
“I see.”
“We bought a pregnancy test and it came out positive. I decided to leave early so I could tell Mackie and… and…” Sandy burst into tears.
Babsie leaned over and put her arm around Sandy’s shoulders. She gave her a small hug, and opted not to prompt her to say more. There was quiet for a long while as Sandy cried and Babsie passed her some tissues.
“He was sleeping with another woman.”
“What? Mackie?” Babsie gaped.
Sandy nodded mournfully.
“I just grabbed my bag and ran out. I didn’t know where to go - all my friends were on the trip of course.”
“Well, you’re always welcome here,” Babsie assured her. “C’mon, I’ll get you settled in one of the guestrooms.”
“Thank you.”
A few minutes after that, Isaac received a frantic call from Mackie.
“Have you seen Sandy anywhere?”
“Sandy? Isn’t she on that trip with her friends.”
“She came home early,” Mackie gulped. “Umm… and she sorta, kinda saw me… umm…”
“Saw you what?”
“Sleeping with someone else,” he whispered.
Isaac stared at him.
“You were doing what?”
“I… I… I was having an affair okay? Happy now?”
“No. How long has this been going on?”
“A few months.”
“A few months!”
“We met because of Oliver. When he and his friends finished recording, they invited me out to celebrate with them. They went to a strip club and that’s where we met.”
“She’s a hooker? You’re having an affair with a hooker?”
“No, she was one of the dancers. Not a hooker,” Mackie defended. “She happens to be -”
“I’m not sure I want to know her ‘fine qualities’, Mackie. Didn’t you even once think of Sandy?”
“Yes… no… I don’t know!” he wailed. “But when she… when she saw us and the look on her face… I… I broke it off. I mean, I just…”
“You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?” Isaac suggested dryly.
Mackie nodded mournfully.
“And you only broke it off now. Not only is that too late, it should never have started.”
“I know, I know.”
Isaac gave him a long look.
“If I see her I’ll let her know you called,” he said at last.
Mackie nodded slowly.
“Thanks.”
“I’m not inclined to do you any favours,” Isaac warned.
“I understand.”
They hung up.