"I think Peter is stealing from me", Gracey broke the news to her bff over a cup of coffee.
"You think or you know?" Betty questioned with a creased brow, reaching out to her coffee and having a quick slurp. Tearing her croissant and dipping part in a chocolate spread, she continued, "I'm still wondering what exactly that you were thinking when you decided to marry an unrepentant armed robber."
"Don't call him that, he might have had one or two lapses in the past and several moments of weaknesses, but that is a good man who has put in conscious efforts over the years to change. Show some respect Betty." Gracey fired.
"Respect? Oh wow! Miss respect, pardon me but ever heard of old habits die hard?"
"No I have not, I blame myself for bringing my marital problems to you." Gracey reached out to her bag signaling the waiter to come pick up her bills. It was supposed to be an afternoon catch up between both women as it's a ritual they discovered keeps them going. Over a cup of coffee, both ladies can share their problems while they each proffer solutions to one another.
The waiter sorted out Gracey's bill and requested to know if Betty's bill should be added but Gracey quickly declined causing Betty to smirk.
Looking at the tag on the waiter's chest, Betty addressed the waiter by his name, "Don't bother Frederick, I'm still drinking and snacking. Plus, I would be here enjoying my alone moment for quite a while."
Kissing her teeth, Gracey pushed back on the chair that she was sitting on and exited the table.
"I hope it doesn't become too late for you to exit in the future and you come crying to me" Betty yelled as Gracey walked away.
Without turning back, Gracey raised up her hands and gave Betty the middle finger from behind causing Betty to laugh and shake her head both ways repeatedly. One would expect Betty to be angry over Gracey's outburst but being her best friend since childhood, she has understood Gracey to a large extent and have since learned to manage her character and shortcomings. Despite never approving of her relationship and marriage to Peter, she's been highly supportive and could only hope that Gracey realises the snake that Peter is sooner.
Gracey got back home to meet Peter preparing dinner, one of the many reasons she decided to overlook his excesses and marry him. As she made way to her room to take a hot bath, Peter followed suit to help her get out of her dress and assist her in the shower while the beef slowly cooked in the oven.
"You didn't have any appointments today?" Gracey inquired from Peter upon reaching their room and taking a seat on the bed.
"No dear, nobody needed my services today so I thought to give them to my lovely wife", Peter responded, taking off Gracey's shoes. With a peck on Gracey's legs. Peter looked her deep in the eye and then said to her, "you know I love you right?"
Gracey gave a deep sigh, not sure what to respond. This got Peter concerned as he sought to inquire what's wrong. She loves Peter too and has always supported him financially with his dreams and aspirations but his habit of theft and even extending it to her is one thing that has given her sleepless nights over the years. Seeing how concerned Peter got, Gracey felt it was the perfect time to talk about Peter's problem.
Clearing her throat, she held Peter's hands but hesitated a bit which got Peter more worried.
"Babe, you are scaring me. Is there something that I should know?"
"Actually, yes Peter." With a stern look, Gracey continued, "I know that you are stealing from me and I would like to know why." Peter wanted to withdraw his hands but Gracey held on tight and questioned again, "did you marry me so you could get better access to my money?"
"Stop Gracey! Don't talk to me like that."
"I should not talk to you like how? Peter, why are you stealing from me? You claimed to be into that kind of lifestyle because according to you, you had no other means of survival....."
Drawing in air with an outburst of tears, Gracey continued, "you promised me Peter. You promised to change and I established you in a lucrative business of real estate. Also on that ground I married you.
Peter you said that if you had something good going on for you, you would leave the gang and stop stealing. Was all that promise just so you could turn me to your personal vault where you just go and pick up money whenever?"
"No, not at all Gracey, it's nothing like that... It's just, I have so much going on for me and whatever I earn in real estate doesn't cover it."
"So you steal from me?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do."
"You didn't know what else to do?" Gracey questioned and was faced with a dumbfounded Peter which got her really upset. She continued but this time in a growly type of voice that comes from deep throat.
"What exactly do you have going on that the figures you earn from real estate can't cover? Because you don't take care of any financial burden in the home. So where does all your earnings go?"
"Gracey..." Peter muttered underneath his breath reaching out to Grace's hand but she withdrew.
"I wish it was that easy for me to explain but it's not. I'm scared that if you find out you won't want me anymore"
"But you were not scared that I'd leave if I found out that you were stealing from me?"
Exhaling sharply, Peter was going to respond but was halted by a call from his phone he had kept in his pocket. Seeing who the caller was, Peter quickly excused himself to answer the call.
Gracey waited for Peter so they could get back to their talk. She stood by the window trying to get a mental view of the outdoors to lighten her mood but was shocked to see Peter driving out in full speed. This got her really upset as she started questioning herself with gestures, "where are we not in the middle of a conversation? Did this man just ghost me?"
Remembering she had Peter's movements tracked via find my iphone, she quickly picked up her phone, raced downstairs and jumped on her car to track Peter down.
As she drove on top speed following Peter's phone signals, she already pictured all the horrible things she would do to Peter in her head if she finds out that it's another woman. Her anger quickly calmed a bit when she got to the final destination of Peter's phone signal and discovered that it was a service home for cancer patients.
Gracey battled with a variety of different emotions, she got confused and really didn't know what else to expect. In her confused state, she was contemplating if to go to the service home or not. Just then, Peter rushed out with some nurses and a girl on a stretcher into an already stationed Ambulance. She tried to get Peter's attention but he was too overwhelmed to even notice her. Seeing them drive off, she quickly rushed to her car and followed them to a specialist hospital.
She got in and met Peter in the waiting area, tense, eyes red and filled with tears.
"Peter, what's going on? Who is that girl that was brought in?"
Too overwhelmed, Peter rushed Gracey and gave her a tight hug while he wept profusely. Words failed him as everytime he made an attempt to speak, he's quickly prevented with more tears. Still confused, Gracey stood with both hands by her side not hugging him back. Just then, the doctors came in to inform Peter that his daughter had been stabilised.
"Your daughter?" Gracey questioned with bulgy eyes with a raised eyebrow.
"Gracey I promise you, I will tell you everything that you need to know but first, let's go check up on her".
Reluctantly, Gracey followed suit. There, she met the girl on life support and her heartbroke. Immediately, her mind flashed to what Peter said to her about having so much going on for him and his earnings not being enough. Everything made sense to her and again she understood why Peter said if he had told her she wouldn't have married him because truly she knew deep down she wouldn't have married him with all that baggage. But then, she felt really sorry for him and felt for his child and her situation. She needed to make up her mind on what decision to take going forward so she asked Peter about the girl's mom and when Peter told her that she died of Cancer, she knew it was wrong but she felt at ease accepting the situation.
