The Edge of Eternity

The moment she came out of the bathroom, the pay phone in the lounge area started to ring again. Once again she paused. When no one came this time, she walked over and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”

“Elizabeth.”

Her whispered name sent a chill up her spine as the blood in her veins turned to ice.

Without thinking, Elizabeth slammed down the phone and spun, expecting to find someone standing behind her. Reaching out for her.

No one was there. But as she stood motionless, the bathroom door opened and the young woman came out. She had her cell phone in one hand, but instead of making a call, she headed back out to the restaurant.

The pay phone started to ring again.

Elizabeth whirled back around and stared at it for a moment, then snatched it up. “Hello?”

“I think I have a wrong number,” a masculine voice said with a sigh. “You’re not Carol, are you?”

“No. This is a pay phone at a restaurant.”

“Sorry to have bothered you.”

“No bother,” she mumbled and hung up.

Whatever had possessed her to answer the phone in the first place? Elizabeth wondered as she walked back to her table. And why had she thought she’d heard her name when she first answered?

Obviously she was hearing things. Slamming doors. Music coming from Damon’s room. And now her name, whispered in a voice that sent another chill up her spine just thinking about it.

Yes, it was definitely time to make a change in her life.

Even though cell phones were taboo in the dining room, Elizabeth could see that Frankie was talking on hers as she approached the table. She quickly ended the call when she saw Elizabeth. “Hey, I was just talking to…” Her words trailed off. “What’s wrong?”

Elizabeth barely heard her. Her attention was focused on one of the tables by the window, where the woman she’d seen in the restroom had just sat down with a dark-haired companion. The woman was laughing and leaning in intimately to hang on his every word. He had his back to Elizabeth, but when he turned to signal the waiter, she recognized his profile. It was Paul.

It’s the kind of day that makes you glad to be in love.

As the woman’s words came back to her, Elizabeth’s heart began to pound in slow, painful beats. She couldn’t seem to move. She stood mesmerized by the sight of her husband with another woman.

Frankie followed her gaze and then gasping slightly, stood and grabbed Elizabeth’s arm. “Come on, honey. Let’s get out of here.”

She kept a firm hold on Elizabeth’s arm as she led her out of the restaurant and then, once they were on the street, she started to swear.

Elizabeth said nothing.

Her tirade finally over, Frankie swiped back her black hair. “Okay, I feel better.” She gave Elizabeth a sympathetic look. “You know I’d like to go in there and give that bastard a piece of my mind, don’t you? But we have to keep things in perspective. It’s not the end of the world. You’re going to divorce him anyway. Granted, he should have let the ink dry on the final decree before he got himself a hot, young girlfriend….” She swore again and clapped a hand to her mouth. “I can’t believe I just said that. I’m sorry, Lizzy.”

Elizabeth shrugged. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. The man’s a pig, but show me one who isn’t. Let’s just try to look on the bright side here. If he’s got a girlfriend, he’s not going to want to make waves about the settlement. That gives you leverage. Power.” Frankie’s brown eyes gleamed in the sunlight. “You can stick it to him but good after this.”

She was right, Elizabeth tried to tell herself. She and Paul were getting a divorce, so what did it matter if he was already seeing someone else? He was a young, handsome, successful businessman. Elizabeth hadn’t expected him to be on the market forever. It would have been nice if he’d waited, as Frankie said, until the ink was dry on the divorce papers, but in the long run it didn’t change anything.

So why did she feel so hurt? So utterly devastated and betrayed? Paul had a right to find happiness. They both did.

It’s okay, she kept telling herself over and over. It was going to be okay.

“Let’s just get back to the shop,” Frankie said. “We can talk about it there.”

Elizabeth hesitated. She didn’t want to talk about what she’d just seen. Not yet. It was too fresh. Too confusing. “I think I’ll just walk around for a while. You don’t mind, do you? As you said, Wednesdays are usually pretty slow.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” Frankie said. “Wednesdays are dull as dirt, so Karen and I can definitely hold down the fort. It’s just…I hate to leave you alone.”

“I’m fine,” Elizabeth assured her. She even managed to muster up a smile. “I just need some fresh air. I’ll be back in a little while.”

Frankie nodded. “I’ll see you back at the shop. Lizzy…” She reached out and put her hand on Elizabeth’s arm. “It really is going to be okay, you know.”

“I know.”

But it wasn’t okay. No matter how many times Elizabeth tried to tell herself otherwise, her life was never going to be okay again. Her son was dead and her husband was seeing another woman.

As she stared at the restaurant, a breeze from the water drifted through her hair, lifting it as though an invisible hand caressed it.

Shivering uncontrollably, Elizabeth turned and walked away.

Chapter Two

She’d been waiting in the coffee shop across from Paul’s building for nearly half an hour when she finally spotted his silver Lexus pull into the attached parking garage.

Giving him a few more minutes, Elizabeth finished her coffee, then tossed the disposable cup in the trash can as she left the shop and crossed the street to the office building. When she got off the elevator on the thirty-second floor, the receptionist greeted her warmly.

“Elizabeth! I was just thinking the other day how long it’s been since I’ve seen you. How are you?”

“I’m fine, Angie, thanks. And you?”

“Can’t complain,” the older woman said with a smile.

“How’s your mother?” Elizabeth asked. “The last time we spoke, she was going in for surgery. A problem with her back, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, goodness me, that was ages ago. How nice of you to remember. Mother’s doing well for someone her age. She’s eighty-six, you know. She’ll probably outlive me, the rate she’s going. I’ll be sure and tell her you asked about her.”

“Yes, please give her my best.” Elizabeth paused. “Is my— Is Paul in?”

“I just saw him come back from lunch a few minutes ago. Do you want me to ring him?”

“I’d rather just go on back, if that’s okay.”

“Oh, sure.” Angie waved toward the corridor to the right of her desk. “You know the way.”

Elizabeth rounded the corner to Paul’s office, then stopped dead. The redhead from the restaurant sat behind the desk outside Paul’s door. She was on the phone, and when Elizabeth first saw her, she wanted to turn and walk quickly away. But the woman glanced up just then and her smile disappeared. She recognized Elizabeth. It was there in her eyes, but for some reason she pretended not to.

“Yes? May I help you?” she asked briskly.