“I’ve already made an appointment to see my doctor. I’ll just wait until then and bring you the note. After that we can get on with how we’re going to handle this. I know you’re angry now but I do hope you’re going to want to be part of our lives, Sal.”

“First things first, Melissa. And the note alone is not gonna cut it. Even it were notarized I’d still have to run it by someone to make sure it’s authentic.” Sal hated sounding like such a dick but Melissa may have single handedly ruined any chance of complete happiness he may ever have. The last thing he wanted to discuss was any kind of relationship with her. “I gotta go. Let me know when you get the note.”

He expected the mood from the other employees to be somewhat somber but he didn’t expect the cold shoulder and downright haughtiness from some of Grace’s closer friends. If it were for any other reason he might be irritated by it but he was just as pissed at himself as they were. He’d never forgive himself for the pain he’d caused Grace. If the pain of knowing he’d lost her was this excruciating for him, he could only imagine what she must be feeling, knowing he’d done this.

Sofia was on the phone in the back room when he walked in. “Perfect. Oh, he just walked in. Let me make sure.” She looked at Sal. “You stayed at the Hard Rock Café that night in Vegas right?”

Sal nodded. He knew Sofia was adamant about this but it surprised him that she was already on the phone with someone about it.

“Yeah, it was the Hard Rock. Okay. Thanks.”

She hung up and smiled big at Sal. “Romero said he might be able to get the tapes from the casino that night you were there. He said casinos hold on to their surveillance tapes for months or in some cases, years. Normally we’d need a court order to get a hold of them but,” she winked, “good ole Romero has connections.”

As much as Sal appreciated the effort, it was too hard to get past the hopelessness of the situation. “Sof,” he said, plopping down in the chair, as the memory of Melissa unzipping his pants came flying at him like a slap across the face. “She was in my room that morning. Her damn panties were on the floor. Romero is better off looking into whether or not she’s lying about being pregnant. That’s probably the only thing we can hope for at this point, because even if she’s not, Grace won’t be forgetting and much less forgiving the fact that I cheated on her.” He shook his head disgusted with himself. “And with Melissa of all people.”

Sofia shook her head also. “And you call women naïve? You don’t think that psycho bitch would have it in her to plant her stink ass panties in your hotel room? I put nothing past her.” She opened the cabinet and pulled out her purse. “Now that you’re here I can leave.”

She stopped when her eyes met Sal’s. He must have looked as miserable as he felt because her hard expression changed immediately to commiseration. Sal let his head hang back and closed his eyes. He opened his eyes when he felt her lips on his forehead. “It’s gonna be okay, Sal. Something tells me Grace will somehow find it in her heart to forgive you.” Before he could retort she added. “If, in fact, there is anything to forgive.” She straightened up and pulled her purse over her shoulder. “And if it does turn out Melissa made this whole thing up, that sorry bitch is gonna have a lot answer to.”

If it wasn’t for his heart feeling the weight of the world crushing it, Sal might’ve laughed. His brothers and sister were always so ready to kick some ass. If only that could fix everything, his siblings would rule the world.

Once left alone, the dread really sunk in. He leaned his face into his clasped hands like a man praying for a miracle as visions of Gracie’s anguished expression assaulted him. He’d done that to her. And if he could never forgive himself, how could he ever expect her to? It was over.

~*~

It took a few minutes after opening her eyes for Grace to realize she was in Joey and Taylor’s bed. But it took less than a few seconds to remember why. She closed her eyes again, wishing to God she hadn’t remembered.

Joey lay next to her fully clothed. He hadn’t even taken off his shoes. The poor guy must’ve fallen asleep trying to console her. He’d cried almost as much as she had. She scooted off the bed slowly, careful not to wake him. It was still light out. She remembered Taylor giving her a pill to take to calm her. He said it was harmless but might make her drowsy. Well, it sure had knocked her out. She wondered now if he’d slipped Joey one, too.

She’d just stepped out of the restroom when Taylor and Rose walked in the front door. As soon as Rose saw her she rushed to Grace and hugged her hard. The emotion overtook Grace and once again she was crying. “I’ll stop talking to Vincent if you want. Once you’re over Sal I don’t want anything to remind you of him and make you sad.”

Grace took a deep breath, shaking her head and struggled to get the words out. She cleared her throat. “No, you don’t have to.” She tried pulling away but Rose wouldn’t let go.

“Grace.” It was only then that Grace realized Rose was crying, too. “I hate that you’re so sad. When Taylor told me how much you were hurting it ripped my heart out.”

Immediately Grace went into big sister mode. She smoothed Rose’s hair and sucked it up. “I’m gonna be fine, Rose. I promise.”

Up until that moment she had no idea how she’d get through this. She’d felt like her entire world had come crashing down on her. Now she realized, just like in the past she had to get through this. Not just for herself but for Rose. She couldn’t let even this get in the way of her dream of moving her and Rose out.