ARTHURWhen Doris left, I felt like she took my heart with her. I stared at the door she had closed, not gently, but not loudly either. Wondering how I had gone from being on top of the world to feeling like my whole world was falling apart.I drank a scotch, and I slammed the glass down on my expensive bar table. "Dammit," I said to myself. "This is Doris’s fault, not mine. Why do I feel guilty?"&n
DORIS "I can’t believe you’re still moping around because you haven’t been in contact with Arthur," Nina said. "He’s gone for a week or two, not two months. Get a hold of yourself, Doris." "You are not supposed to be so enmeshed with Arthur that when he goes away for a week, you have a nervous breakdown."
DORIS While we were eating dinner the next day, I said to Arthur, "I forgot to tell you. I got this call out of nowhere. From probably the most thrilling club in all of New York, The Sultan Room. Do you know it?" He smiled slyly, "Yes, I know it." "Well, the c
DORISI knew Arthur was at the main AmeriCapital office today, so I was surprised to see him leaning in the doorway of my office at Heritage Properties."Hi, Little Dove." Arthur's eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint. "How about tonight, after Mia is asleep, we break away from the ordinary life and have a little adventure?"I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Adventure? What do you have in mind, Arthur?"“You’ll see.”At 9 pm, when it was time to leave, Mrs. Sanchez from downstairs came to keep an eye on sleeping Mia."We might not be back until close to dawn," Arthur said.“No problem, I’ll rest on the couch. Don’t you worry.”Arthur held the door for me as we got in the back of a fancy, blue Lamborghini. "Doris, are you up for a late-night picnic under the stars? Just you, me, and a blanket spread out in this special spot I know."I chuckled, amused by his spontaneity. "Arthur, that sounds like the perfect way to spend the evening!"We went to Brooklyn Bridge Park.“I’ve never been
ARTHURDoris called her old high school friend and planned an amazing weekend for us. On Saturday, we went blueberry picking at the farm part of her friend's estate. On Sunday, we went up in the hot air balloon."Wheeeee...wheeeee..." Mia kept saying over and over and over again. I didn't want to dampen her seven-year-old enthusiasm, but if she said it one more time, she would drive me crazy.Doris started singing and taught Mia the words to "I Think I Can Fly", and "Up In The Air". I shot Doris a grateful look."We should have my birthday party here," Mia said."Birthday?” Doris asked, and I quickly jumped in because, of course, Doris should know when Mia's birthday was. "Pumpkin, your birthday isn't for another three weeks.""That's like forever from now. Can we celebrate it this weekend? I want to have a birthday party here. Can invite Betty and Jennifer? I want to invite my whole class."Before I could say anything, Mia continued, "I want to have blueberry picking, and hot air ba
ARTHURDoris, Nathan, Emma, the head pharmacist, and the new manager we hired, Ethan, and I got into the limo. We were going to the biggest pharmaceutical conference of the year, the American Association of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmaceuticals. It was in Philadelphia this year, so we had plenty of time to discuss strategy on the way to the conference.We were almost all the way there when Emma looked at her tablet, and she saw that the bottles we were using to test the development of the drug were interacting with the drug itself."Oh no!" Emma said. "This is going to make the entire first batch usable."This was a huge setback. "We'll fix it. We'll work around the clock to get a fresh batch and make sure we get the drug to clinical trials on time.""Emma, that was a good catch. It's a good thing you checked," Doris said.Doris was right to praise Emma. Still, I
ARTHURA few seconds after I heard Doris turn on the shower, my phone rang. It was Cathy. I kept forgetting that I was supposed to call her back. This was a good time as any. I picked up the phone."Hi, Cathy. I'm sorry we haven't connected earlier. How are you?"She hesitated. "I'm OK. I've been traveling around Asia. I know it can be hard to get me with the time difference.""I really should've called you earlier, but I bought a hockey team, started a pharmaceutical company, and I've been busy with Doris. I wasn't ignoring your texts. I just keep forgetting to call. I'm sorry. What can I do for you?"She paused again in a way that wasn't good. It gave me chills. Dread went up and down my spine.It wasn't just that she paused. It was the way that she paused. It wasn't just silence. It was an eerie, cold silence.Whatever Cathy was going to ask of me, it was big, and
ARTHURTrue to my word, I started the morning with passionate sex, and then I made Doris breakfast.But I couldn't wait too long until I told Doris the specifics about the conversation that Cathy and I had. I didn't want to do it in the penthouse, and I certainly didn't want to do it in Doris's apartment. Noah might be there.I thought it would be best to do it somewhere in neutral territory. I decided on Central Park. There was a little grove in the northern area. It had a tiny bridge over a small lake, bushes, and moss.Mid-morning, under a tree, it was shaded.Because of the time of day, nobody was around. It was perfect.I held Doris's hand. I told her about what Cathy had said.Doris was quiet until I finished, her expression a combination of horror and shock."Oh, my God," she said when I finished."I know.""Wh