She wore the expression she normally got when I talked about work.
“I didn’t know I’d be done so soon.” She stood and took off her jewelry. She rarely wore it anymore, and I stopped buying it for her as a result.
“Now I’ll have to stay late. My wife gets annoyed when I work late,” I bit out in annoyance. She was always getting on me for working so much.
“Yes, heaven forbid she would want her husband home to have dinner with her and the kids.”
I shook my head wondering if we were going to hash out the same old argument. My eyes caught a letter on the bed.
I picked it up. “What’s this?” I saw the name on the stationary and realized one of my fears was coming true. She’d been talking to a lawyer.
When I looked at her, her reflection in the mirror was staring at me. But I didn’t see any concern on her end about what I’d just learned.
“You want a divorce?”
She turned to me, and with the same non-affect said, “No.”
“Then what’s this?” I waved the letter at her.
“I thought about it—”
“This looks like you’ve done more than think about it. You’ve retained a lawyer.”
“I’m not going through with it.”
I studied her, wondering if I wanted to voice the question that I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to. “So, you don’t love me anymore.”
“I never said that.”
I didn’t say anything because I couldn’t decipher her response. Did she still love me? I knew I loved her, which was what made this whole situation all the more tragic.
“Are you relieved or annoyed that I’m not going to follow through,” she asked.
“I’m wondering what happened to you.”
She laughed derisively. “Me? It’s not just me. It’s us, Brayden.”
“I work my ass off to make you and kids happy, but you’re impossible to please.”
“Well, perhaps you’ll get lucky and you won’t have to put up with me anymore,” she said.
“So, you are leaving me?” Why the hell couldn’t she just tell me what was going on with her?
She shrugged. “I’m not divorcing you.”
What the fuck did that mean?
“Daddy, I’m hungry,” Lanie called from out in the hallway.
“I’m coming.”
“I’ll feed them,” Terra said. “You go to work. I know you want to.”
I took umbrage at her comment and tone. “Why am I always the bad guy here, Terra? Don’t I provide a good home for you? The kids are happy. It’s not like I’m not ever around.”
“You’re not a bad guy, Brayden. But don’t pretend that all the time you work is for me and the kids.”
“The hell it isn’t,” I roared.