Chapter 11 #2
She wore his diamond bracelet on Christmas Eve, and went to bed early.
She followed her grandmother’s recipe of a glass of brandy before she went to bed, and woke up early to work on Brandon’s painting.
She had finished the figure, and only had some minor work to do on the background, and Thornton’s collar.
She was pleased with the result. It was an upbeat end to a hard year.
She was sorry she wouldn’t be doing the portrait of Charlie.
She tried to force herself not to think of him.
She was going to have time off in January, since she had set the whole month aside for him.
She thought about trying some of Brandon’s beauty routines, which was unlike her, but she had nothing else to do.
—
She finished Brandon’s portrait on Christmas Day.
Her phone rang once from a blocked number.
She reached over to answer it, and it had disconnected.
It was probably a wrong number. She had harbored a last hope that Charlie would relent and call her for Christmas, but he hadn’t.
She went to bed that night, thinking about him, and she looked at the photograph of Axel she kept next to her bed.
“ Joyeux Noel ,” she whispered, and kissed it, and lay in bed for a long time thinking of the people she loved who had come and gone in her life. And now Charlie was added to the list.
—
Liam had come home for Christmas as he promised, and looked healthy and well.
He was spending almost all of his time outdoors, except what he spent at the drawing board, working on the design for his project.
Charlie was happy to see him, and Liam got busy with his friends right away.
When Charlie asked, he said his ankle still ached from time to time in damp weather, of which there was a lot in Normandy, but it had healed well and felt strong again. And he was still dating the same girl.
Faye had done what she always did on holidays.
She had called a caterer, and they had a sumptuous meal on Christmas Day.
They had caviar and local crab, which they loved, and pasta with a delicate truffle sauce, and chocolate soufflé and a Yule log for dessert.
It was a perfect end to the day, which had been uneventful.
Their florist had decorated the house for Christmas.
There was a silver tree with silver ornaments and tiny sparkling lights in the living room.
It didn’t have a warm personal touch, but it was very chic, and what Charlie expected of Faye.
She had her assistant pick their gifts, which Liam had predicted.
Charlie was relaxing in the living room after dinner, after Liam went out.
He had no idea where Faye was. She was leaving for Aspen the next day, and was spending New Year’s Eve with her friends there.
Charlie was spending it alone, which he didn’t mind, and actually preferred.
They had exchanged gifts that morning. They gave Liam a Rolex watch, and Charlie had bought Faye new skis and a parka, and she had given him a sweater.
Liam had brought his father a warm cashmere scarf from Hermès in Deauville, and a silk scarf for his mother.
Charlie had thought of Devon all day. He had promised himself he would call her by or on Christmas, and he hadn’t.
He had nothing new to say, and he was sure she didn’t want to hear from him by then.
He remembered how upset she had been when he vanished for a week in August. Abandoning her for a month after their wonderful week together over Thanksgiving would have been that much worse.
He was drinking a glass of eggnog with brandy when Faye walked into the room. She looked relaxed, and she came to sit on the couch across from him. It was upholstered in a white bouclé fabric their decorator had picked the year before when they bought new couches for the living room.
“Ready for tomorrow?” he asked her pleasantly.
“Thank you for the new skis and the parka. My skis are all beaten up, I needed them, and I’ve been too busy to buy them.
” He had bought the newest model from the best brand.
She was a fabulous skier, so they would get plenty of use.
“I know the timing is awful. But I’m going to be away for three weeks, and your secretary says that you’re going to New York, so I don’t know when we’ll see each other, and there’s never a good time,” she said as an introduction.
“For what?” It was usually something like a new roof at an outrageous price. Or a new decorator.
“For what I have to say. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.
I’m five years older than you are, and I’m beginning to think about how I want to spend the last years of my career.
The pandemic opened my eyes. I want to work remotely.
I’m trapped in my office twelve or fourteen hours a day.
I want to work remotely now, and see how it works. ”
“It won’t make much difference from your office, if you’re trapped in the house,” he said practically.
“From Aspen. Liam’s in France. You travel all the time.
We never see each other. I’m happy there.
” He thought about it, and it made sense for her.
They would hardly see each other now, maybe every few months, since he got altitude sickness in Aspen.
He sometimes wondered if that was why she had picked it.
“If you’re happy there, Faye. Why not?” He smiled at her.
“And I want a divorce,” she said, and he stared at her.
“Are you serious?” She nodded. “Now? Why?”
“Because the way we live is insane. It’s bad for both of us.
We have no life except our work. I want to ski every day before I go to work, and maybe lighten up a little.
I want to be with people I like, and have a life.
Charlie, we don’t even know each other anymore.
This hasn’t made sense for years, except to hide our heads in the sand about how bad our marriage is.
We don’t even have a marriage. The finances will be complicated, but we’re both reasonable, civilized people, we can work it out.
There’s no reason for us to be married anymore, and Liam is no longer an excuse.
I think we should sell this house, unless you want to be here on your own, or you plan to remarry or whatever.
I don’t need a house this size, nor want one.
” She had thought it all out carefully. And she looked sure of what she was doing.
“Do you want to remarry?” Charlie looked shocked. He hadn’t expected it, and certainly not on Christmas. She had a remarkable way of doing things with total disregard for anyone’s emotions except her own. He wasn’t upset or hurt, but he was surprised, shocked actually.
“I don’t know,” she answered his question.
“Maybe. Maybe not. If I meet someone, maybe I’d be open to it.
But not an empty shell of a marriage like this one.
I don’t know how we lasted this long. I think it’s been pure laziness on both our parts for the last ten years.
You can buy out my half of the house if you want.
I want to get something smaller for when I come to work here, or meet with clients.
Liam can visit me in Aspen if he wants to see me. ”
“Have you told him?” Charlie asked her.
“No. You can if you want to.” She always left him the dirty work.
“I don’t think he’ll be too upset. The idea of it maybe, but the reality won’t be any different from the way we live now.
” She had really surprised him. He had assumed they’d be married forever.
It was what he had told Devon, that his marital status was never going to change.
Now everything would be different, but he would be a free man, which was a huge change.
Faye stood up then. She had said her piece, and she was done. There was no sentiment to it, just simple facts.
“I’m sorry to tell you on Christmas. But I wanted to tell you before I left. I don’t want to keep it a secret. I don’t think anyone we know will be surprised.”
“I’m surprised,” he said honestly, “but I think it’s the right thing to do, if we don’t mind the financial upheaval. That will take a while to sort out.”
“There’s no rush. We have good lawyers and accountants.
They’ll figure it out,” she said calmly.
Her announcement had been completely bloodless.
There was no emotion to it, and no regret, just a feeling of relief.
He felt it too. He had nothing to add. She had covered all the bases, in her usual thorough way, and as unemotionally as always.
He wondered if Liam would be upset, or relieved too, after their conversation last summer in East Hampton, about his parents’ marriage. Charlie had been honest with him.
Charlie sat alone in the living room, thinking of what Faye had said about selling the house.
He thought he’d like a smaller house too.
He didn’t need a house this size if he was going to be alone now.
His mind went immediately to Devon, and what it would change for them.
His marriage hadn’t really been an issue between them, given the arrangement he and Faye had.
The issue for him was the death of his mother and how badly it had marked him.
He would no longer have the excuse of being married with women he dated.
He would be fair game now, which he wasn’t looking forward to.
There was no woman he wanted except Devon, and he wasn’t up to being with her either.
He had managed to be married to Faye for twenty-three years without ever being attached to her or in love with her.
He realized that it was an abysmal statement about him that he had tolerated an empty marriage, and he knew he wouldn’t miss Faye. He wasn’t even sad about the divorce.