“Mason, honey.” Grace said as he stepped through the doorway, her voice obscuring the sound of the lock clicking shut on the office door. He stopped, as the door swung shut behind him, and just looked at her as she stood in front of his office door. There was no welcome smile on his face, but a look of irritation instead. She crossed the room and hugged him. He stood there, barely acknowledging her embrace. Seemingly reluctantly, he wrapped one arm around her briefly, and then used it to escort her out of his way. She stared after him as he went into the bedroom and began to undress. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute after having been almost discovered in his locked office. She swallowed hard, and followed him into the bedroom. “Long day?” She asked, trying to sound as normal as possible. He stared at her for moment, and then nodded. Something was very wrong, she thought. Very wrong.
“Did you see the news?” She asked, still trying to draw at least a single word out of him. He placed his tie next to his jacket on the bed, and began to unbutton his shirt. He nodded again. “We had a close call leaving the hotel.” She said, as she sat at the end of the bed. He tossed his shirt on the bed, kicked his shoes off, and unfastened his belt. “But Connor managed to get us out of there.” She absentmindedly began to fold his shirt, as he slipped out of his pants. “Honey?” She asked. “Are you okay?” Naked, he stood there in front of her in total silence. “Honey?” Grace was suddenly afraid. There was something about him, something about his look. Something about his mood that stirred a dark terrifying fear deep inside of her. She forced herself to remain calm. “What is it?” He broke his stare, and looked away.
“I lost.” He said almost too quietly for her to hear.
“What, honey?” He turned back to her, rage in his face.
“I. Lost.” He said, spitting out each word.
“Lost?” She asked. “Lost what?” She said, thoroughly confused.
“What?” He stepped up to her. “What! I lost the fucking debate!” He said, and raised his hand. Grace flinched back before she caught herself. He had never hit her before, ever. Why, she thought, why would I flinch like that. He appeared not to have noticed. He settled his hand on the back of his neck and began to rub it, as he turned away from her.
“Honey. How? The next debate is not for two days.” He spun around violently.
“Not that debate, damn it! The practice debate!” Her eyes widened though she tried her best to remain calm. She had never seen him like this before. Overwhelmed with rage, and on the edge of a violent explosion.
“But, honey, it’s just practice. Isn’t it like a virtual thing or something?”
“What the fuck does that matter!” He yelled. “It was just like the real thing. The God damn cameras, the fucking press, and that fucking raghead son of a bitch.” He slammed his hand against the wall. “Fuck!” He yelled, and stormed into the bathroom. She heard the shower start, and then something thrown against the wall. Her insides were shaking by now. In all their years together she had never seen him so angry and on the verge of being totally out of control. And his language. The awful cursing. She had never been so afraid of him, or of what he might do. As she sat there on the edge of the bed, she was afraid to move. She felt so vulnerable in just her robe. She couldn’t believe that she felt like this. Not here, in the bedroom with her husband just a few steps away. She couldn’t take it anymore. She had to get dressed, it would make her feel safer.
She rose from the bed, and selected some clothes from the drawers, when she remembered the keycard in the pocket of her robe. Panic gripped her. What if he discovered it on her. What if he stomped out of the bathroom and went right to the book where it had been. What would he do to her if he found her with it. She slipped her hand in her pocket and gripped the incriminating object. She eased up against the drawer that held the book. She glanced into the bathroom, but did not see him. The mirror had begun to steam up. She could vaguely make out his figure, but could not locate where he was in the room. She thought about peeking inside, but she was afraid. She was just plain afraid to be near him. She took a deep breath, and opened the drawer. Quickly she brought the card out of her pocket and reached towards the drawer. The sound of the shower shut off. The card caught the edge of the drawer and flipped out of her shaking hand. She stared in absolute horror as it landed on the floor beside the drawer, and bounced up into the air just inches from the floor. As if in slow motion, she watched as it spun on its axis, and began to fall again, right towards the louvered air vent in the floor. She lunged for it, as it began to slip between the louvers and into the vent. She caught just the very edge of the card between her fingers, when she heard the shower door bang shut. She jumped, and the card slipped through her fingers and disappeared into the vent. She gasped.
Chapter 13