“Oh,” Wendy said, taken aback. “I’m sorry.” She suddenly recalled hearing vague rumors about some crazy woman Selden Rose had been married to, but Selden never talked about her.
He shrugged. “That’s life.”
“Yeah,” she said, thinking about Shane. “Tell me about it.?
?
“Trouble in paradise?” he asked.
“You could say that,” she said vaguely. Her throat felt tight. She forced a smile.
“I’ve been there,” he said. “It’s not easy.”
She shook her head. Jesus Christ. She was going to cry. And all because Selden Rose was being nice to her. Which was, in itself, a reminder that the world was not all bad. But that Selden Rose should be the bearer of this good news . . . Well, it should have been enough to make her laugh.
“Listen,” he said. “I know this doesn’t help, but he must be a complete fuck-wit.”
“Fuck-wit?” Wendy said, jolted out of her thoughts by the word. “I haven’t heard that since the seventies,” she said, slightly disdainfully.
“I’m bringing it back,” he said. “It’s too good a word to lose.”
“Oh, really?” she said. “Do you have more words you’re planning to bring back?”
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked gently, cutting into his roast beef.
She pressed her lips together. She did want to talk about it. Selden was a man, and sometimes men had insights into these situations. But he was also her co-worker, and one who could probably not be trusted. But was this how she was going to live her life, never trusting anyone again? At some point, he would find out anyway.
“It looks like my husband is divorcing me,” she said finally.
“You don’t sound convinced,” he said. Their eyes met. Damn. There it was again. That sexual undercurrent. She couldn’t be imagining it. And then—she was quite sure his eyes flickered to her breasts. She was wearing a white shirt with a cashmere cardigan. The shirt was tight, and her breasts were pushed out in a push-up bra. She hadn’t worn the bra on purpose. It was her only clean bra. That and a pair of large, pink cotton panties.
“It’s not, um, final or anything. I haven’t even found a lawyer.” She looked down at her plate, pretending to be interested in her roast beef. He said nothing, but when she glanced back up at him, his eyes seemed to be filled with understanding.
“Still hoping that everything will work out?” he asked.
“It’s just that . . . I don’t understand any of it,” she said helplessly. She sat back in her chair.
“What does he say?”
“He won’t say anything. Other than the fact that it’s over.”
“Counseling?” Selden asked.
“He refuses. Says there’s no point.”
“In his mind, there probably isn’t.”
“We were together for twelve years,” Wendy said.
Selden frowned sympathetically. “Geez, Wendy. I’m sorry. So you basically grew up together.”
“Well . . .” She emitted a short, bitter laugh. “You could say I grew up. He didn’t.”
Selden nodded wisely. “I don’t mean to pry, but what did he do?”
Normally, she would have been defensive on this point. She would have said that Shane was a screenwriter (leaving out the word “failed”) and was working hard, opening a restaurant. But suddenly, she just didn’t care anymore. “Nothing,” she said. “He didn’t really do a goddamn thing.”
“That’s something I’ve never understood,” Selden said.