Episode 1066: Price To Pay

She had a million things to say yet not much desire to get further into any of it just then. Dinner had been enough for one night. So she’d turned on some music but her husband switched it off.

“I really am sorry about how Damita behaved tonight,” Ryley said.

“I know, you said that already. I don’t blame you.” Mostly. Adria switched the music back on. She didn’t have a clue what the song was. She used to know that stuff, she was so busy now though with her career and family, she didn’t have a lot of time leftover for absorbing pop culture. Still she bopped her head as if were a favorite tune hoping Ryley would take the hint and table the conversation until she had a chance to process everything and figure out how to fix things. Until Damita spoke up at dinner she hadn’t even been aware there was a problem in her marriage.

“Even if you don’t want to talk about what Damita said, I do. I need to talk to you about it. I didn’t say much at dinner because I didn’t want to make it bigger. I didn’t want Damita to think she was getting to me or us. So instead of outright telling her to shut up about you like I wanted to, I tried to back off and steer the conversation elsewhere, but at the same time I’d hoped that it was clear to you that I didn’t agree with what she was saying. I just didn’t want her to think she’d succeeded in making us as miserable with each other as she is with everyone else. Or more specifically as she mostly is with me.”

Adria had been about to turn the stereo back on when his words caused her to pull back her hand. “You haven’t said anything before about her being miserable with you. Are you sure she’s the one who’s been miserable and it isn’t you who’s miserable and you’ve been complaining to Damita about me. I mean, I get it, I get consumed with the theater sometimes but I wish if that’s how you’d have talked to me so I could figure out how to fix it. I wish you’d been honest instead of pretending to be okay with how much I-”

“I have absolutely been honest about that.” Ryley pulled the car off to the side of the road and shut off the engine. “I love that you’re passionate about what you do. It’s good for you, it’s good for our daughter and it’s good for us. Whenever you’ve stepped away from doing what you actually enjoy, whenever you haven’t had that fulfillment, that’s only time I’ve been miserable with you because you’ve been miserable.”

“But Damita-”

“Is a miserable human being. She wanted you and I to go away for New Year’s so she could be in charge of the team by herself for at least a few days but that didn’t happen and she’s been in one of her snits ever since. I thought maybe the promotion and breaking bread together would improve the situation, but obviously that wasn’t the case. She just wants the job all to herself and isn’t shy about showing me how much she resents my presence. I’m sorry, I should have warned you that she might behave that way, but like I said, I just, I hoped maybe she’d embrace the idea of us being a team when it paid off with a promotion.”

“Why didn’t you tell me working with Damita has been difficult?”

“You’ve had so much going on and I didn’t want to add more especially something connected to your dad when I really didn’t take Damita’s issues with me as a big deal, I thought once our partnership had some success she’d be cool with it. I figured she’d get over it soon enough since our work hasn’t actually suffered, it’s just a bit of suffering to work with her, though I guess she feels the same about me. But you know, maybe it still will get better, she was less harassing as dinner wore on, right?”

“Or that’s how she always is and my dad knew he’d assigned you to work with someone who totally isn’t a team player. So typical. I knew he couldn’t just let you come back to the company without making you pay for it. Why does he have to be like this?”

“This is why I didn’t tell you.”

Episode 1067: Handle With Care