I wanted to express my concern that the kiss would look too staged, but I’ve learned through the years that any opinion of mine that contradicts Tripp’s parents’ was null and void. So, I keep my behavior proper just as my mother-in-law had pressed, and when Tripp pulls back, I gaze up and give him an adoring smile.
And with that, I nail the performance.
After the rally, we go back to the house for a little breather before we head to DC where Tripp’s parents are hosting a large celebratory party. While Tripp is on a call with his campaign manager, I slip out of my conservative attire and put on the deep-red dress that I bought for this very occasion. It isn’t my typical color, but this isn’t a typical day.
I’m able to take one glance in the full-length mirror before Tripp calls out from downstairs, “We need to go. Are you ready?”
“Coming.”
After grabbing my clutch, I head downstairs with a little more bounce in my step than usual, excited to show off my new outfit to my husband. I spot Tripp from across the room, wearing the new tie I picked up for him. He’s on his phone and barely glances my way when he grabs the car keys and mouths for me to come on.
Disappointment returns. It’s a feeling I’ve become familiar with, especially lately. Trailing behind him, I slip on my wool coat before we head out. The drive is a little over an hour, but Tripp spends the whole time on the phone.
I get it. He just made his big announcement and people are excited, but with how busy everything has been leading up to this point, and knowing that, moving forward, it’s only going to become even more hectic, I was hoping to snag a little of his attention on our drive.
Just because I’m irked beneath the surface, I go against my instinct to say something because I know it would wind up coming out accusing or snarky, so I opt to keep a tight lip. This is his moment, after all, not mine.
We hit some slight traffic in the city, so when we arrive, we are a bit late. Even though I’m exhausted and the last thing I want to do is to mingle with the influential people of Maryland and DC, I’m ready to dazzle.
Walking hand in hand as we enter the house that’s even grander than ours, we’re immediately greeted by Tripp’s father.
“There you are, son,” William says with a clap to Tripp’s shoulder. “And Caroline,” he continues, taking both my hands in his as I grit my teeth in distaste for the name he insists on calling me, as if saying Carly would stain his tongue in low-society tar. “Lovely as always.”
As he kisses my cheek, I hold my breath against his robust cologne before pulling back with a mock charmed smile. “Thank you, William.”
“Oh, you two finally made it!” Eloise, Tripp’s mother, croons with outstretched arms as she approaches.
After a kiss to her son’s cheek, she turns her attention to me. I’m not surprised when she gives me a once-over before hugging me and remarking in distaste, “Red is quite a bold statement.”
All I can do is force a smile. No sense in poking the beast.
Of course, she would only view me in red as whorish or cheap when my true intention is to give a fashionable, patriotic nod to the Republican Party, which the Montgomery’s are known to be a part of.
William leads Tripp away to introduce him to a few old colleagues from his days when he held political office, leaving me to mingle alone. It doesn’t take long until I’m joined by few wives of my husband’s colleagues. These aren’t friends by choice, but necessity. When I married Tripp, the women welcomed me into their sorority because that was what was required of them. It was what their husbands expected.
The evening draws on, and I find myself scanning the room for Tripp, not having seen him in nearly an hour. My smile holds with the women, but on the inside, my frustration with my husband grows.
“Please excuse me,” I politely interject. “It was lovely seeing you all tonight. Thank you for coming, but I should greet some of the other guests.”
Wanting a moment to myself, I set down my champagne flute and slowly make my way to the other side of the house. I close the bathroom door softly behind me and take my time freshening up. I spend an extra few minutes behind the heavy mahogany door, checking my makeup and hair, but I know I need to return to the party.
As I open the door to the restroom, I expect to hear the soft tunes from the baby grand piano in the living room, but instead, I hear a woman’s laughter from down the hall. It’s odd that anyone aside from family would be in this section of the house, so I head toward the muffled voices. Approaching the cracked door to one of the spare bedrooms, my breath catches in my throat when I peek in to find Tripp with one of his staff.
Olivia.
His campaign scheduler.
My skin pricks in chills as I find my husband cupping her cheek in his hand. The heaviness of my gut at the sight turns me lightheaded, but I can’t look away. It isn’t that I’m shocked to see Tripp with another woman; I’ve been suspicious of it for a long time.
Too many unexplained late nights.
Too many cancelled dates.
Too many days without a kiss, a touch, a look.
I’ve yet to see it with my own two eyes, though, and it isn’t something he openly flaunts like other politicians. Quite frankly, I’m peeved that he would choose an event like this to be so blatantly disrespectful and risk being caught. Rage and jealously boil from beneath the surface, furious at the man Tripp has turned into. A man just like his father. I bite my lip to keep from snapping like a lunatic as I watch the twenty-something-year-old with red hair and red lips run her hand down the length of my husband’s tie.
“Come, dear,” Eloise murmurs from behind, startling me. She places her hands on my shoulders and guides me away from the door, saying, “Boys will be boys.”
Stunned that Eloise can be so cavalier about what her son is doing steals the words from my tongue. I can hardly speak. Everyone knows the rumors of her husband’s affairs through the years, but is she really condoning the same behavior from her son? She leads me back to the party, and it’s then that I truly realize I hold no value in this family.
“Tonight is a very important night,” Eloise condescends as if I don’t know. “The men have it easy, but it’s us who have to win over the wives of all those powerful men. And you know how women can be.”
It’s sickening how dismissive Eloise is being, but at the same time, I’m mortified. Too mortified to say anything to her. To stand up for myself. The desire to prove that Tripp and I have an unbreakable love has always been stronger than anything else inside me. I’ve always wanted to prove that we are nothing like his parents. But the cracks are exposed, and I’m too embarrassed to acknowledge it. So, I simply smile and follow my mother-in-law across the grand room where caterers in black ties serve the finest of hors d’oeuvres and champagne on polished silver platters, all the while, swallowing down the sheer outrage. It runs deep through my core, causing my palms to tingle with hostility.
“Ladies, I’m honored to introduce my son’s wife, Caroline.” Eloise beams in fakery to a group of women.
Another stab of irritation at the name Caroline cuts me even though I should be used to it by now.
The women greet me as etiquette would instruct: warm smiles, gracious handshakes, light hugs, and what would appear to most to be genuine compliments that aren’t only for me, but my husband as well. To smile hurts, but I endure the pain through every emotion that’s roiling within me and carry on as if thoughts of what Tripp is doing with that girl on the other side of the house aren’t playing in 3-D inside my head.