The rims of Ella’s eyes reddened.
“Oh my. Hey, are you all right?”
Ella nodded meaningfully.
“What happened?. . . Hey? Ella? What’s going on?”
Ella swallowed, trying not to burst into tears at Casey’s job. “I’m sorry,” she sputtered.
Judith couldn’t look away. Casey glanced at her manager, and not missing this, Ella turned to Judith. “Thank you,” she said, swallowing again, “uhm. . . for finding Casey. For me . .” Ella panted. Her ears were ringing incessantly. Tracking her heartbeat, the ringing sounded as though someone were shooting a gun inside her head again and again and again. Bang, pause, bang, pause, bang.
“Really, Judith. Thank you. So much,” Casey said. It scared her to see Ella like this. She’d speak to her quickly, then put her in a taxi. Dr. Shim had told Casey that preeclampsia was a serious danger for the mother.
“Judith, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to take my break now,” Casey said.
Judith squinted. “What time is it?”
Casey glanced at the Rolex. Like Sabine, Judith was a stickler about lunch and break periods. To make a point, Judith routinely docked people if they were only five minutes late.
“I realize I just had my lunch break, but this is important. Just fifteen minutes, okay? I’ll make it up tomorrow. Sorry.” Without waiting for Judith’s reply, Casey dashed out from behind the counter, hooked Ella’s arm securely with her own, and directed her to the back of the store to the employee elevator.
The glass-enclosed terrace of the employee cafeteria was freezing cold, but Ella didn’t seem to mind. She was now heaving.
“Hey, none of that.” Casey grew more worried. “What’s going on?”
“Ted slept with Delia and gave me herpes.” As soon as Ella said this out loud to another person, her breathing felt calmer.
“What?” Casey couldn’t believe it. She could, but she couldn’t. “Damn him.”
“Isn’t she your friend?” Ella stopped crying. Her eyes looked weird.
“Who? Delia?”
“Yes.” Ella nodded, her concentration more intense. The gunshots in her head grew louder, but she felt sharp.
“Whoa,” Casey said, needing to stall. She couldn’t talk about Delia to Ella. Delia would make any wife insane. With her right hand, she covered her eyes. “Right. Ted fucked Delia.” She patted her pockets. Her cigarettes were downstairs. “What the fuck is his problem?”
Casey walked out to buy lunch with Delia nearly once a week, even after Delia changed floors. Not once had Delia mentioned an interest in Ted Kim or any other man. Delia didn’t talk that much about men. It was almost too simple a topic for her. The only steady lay she’d admit to on occasion was Santo, whom she called the hot guy in the mailroom. But even Santo was sort of a done deal. He was Roman Catholic, and he and his high-school-girlfriend-turned-wife had four children together.
Casey liked Delia. Delia was cool. She was fun to talk to. They didn’t hang out much outside of work, but Delia was someone you wanted on your side at the office. Despite her willingness to have sex with married men, Delia saw no contradiction or hypocrisy in the fact that she expected absolute loyalty from her friends, and she returned the favor. Her commitment to discretion had a lot to do with never humiliating the wives. She said, “Never make anyone’s wife look bad. Really a stupid move.” Casey had no intention of hooking up with a married guy, but if she did, she’d remember Delia’s exegesis on keeping a married man for the long haul: “The mistress can never truly replace a wife. The husband never stops needing the first wife’s approval. The mistress can marry the husband, but the first wife is always somewhere in his head. Like his mother. And if there’s kids, oh please, what a royal pain in the ass. The first wife might as well be in your bed, and she’s definitely in your face. Stupid move. I don’t advise it. Just fuck him. Knock yourself out.”
“Casey?”
“Huh?” Casey glanced up. Ella looked terrified. “Are they still together?”
“He said it ended a year ago,” Ella replied.
“That wouldn’t surprise me. I mean—not that he screwed Delia, but that they’re done with. You know?”
“My head hurts,” Ella said. “This ringing in my head is so awful. I feel like someone is trying to kill me, over and over again—I want to die, Casey. This morning, I thought I’d jump out the window. But instead I came here. I thought maybe you can help me.”