CHAPTER 14
M yra had mostly worked by herself the previous night, which had been strange to Elisa because it was out there now: they liked each other.
They were going on a date. But they’d been hanging out first, sort of, before that because Myra had been working on the house.
The tarp around the space had helped prevent Elisa from staying in the room to talk to her, and the loud power tools had also kept them from doing much talking, but when Myra had packed up her tools and had been ready to leave, it had become awkward between them again.
This time, it had just been a different kind of awkwardness: of two people who liked one another enough to try going out on a date and who had said as much but then had needed to say goodbye at the door before that date would happen.
Myra had been smiling at her while Elisa had moved anxiously from side to side, even though she had known they wouldn’t kiss goodnight just yet.
Myra had mentioned that they’d probably kiss after their first date, but Elisa had wanted her to kiss her already.
She had wanted Myra to lean in, press her full lips to Elisa’s own, and give her the first real kiss of her life.
She had also wanted Myra to come back inside, push her against the door, and do even more than just kiss her, but neither of them had been ready for that yet.
She hoped it was a yet , too. She hoped that Myra might be her first.
Elisa didn’t really know what to do with her day when she woke up.
She hadn’t heard back about the receptionist job, so she assumed she hadn’t gotten it.
They had been insistent that she interview that day because they needed to fill the role so quickly, but they had yet to contact her about another interview or with a job offer, so as she sat at the coffee table, sipping her coffee, she looked up more jobs to apply for.
She had gone for a run before that and had noticed Myra’s truck already gone, which meant she’d left for work before seven, and she hoped Myra wouldn’t be too tired for their date later.
Elisa checked out a few job descriptions that were listed as remote opportunities, which would allow her to work from home, and found that all of them required a college degree.
One even required a master’s degree for what was essentially an entry-level position, and their listed starting salary range was a pittance compared to how much that degree would cost someone to earn.
She thought about what Archie Junior had said about her maybe going back to school.
The truth was that she couldn’t really afford it.
Well, she could . The money was there. It was just meant for the kids.
Archie Senior hadn’t ever been a great father – not that she would ever say that to the kids – so she worried that he would somehow find a way to wiggle out of paying for their school expenses.
She also wanted to have a little left for their first houses or their weddings.
That would be their choice, of course, but she didn’t want to touch that money unless she absolutely had to.
She thought about that as she finished her second cup of coffee and heard her phone buzz with a text message.
Gwen Benedetti : Hey. What are you up to? I’ve got five dogs that could use a walk, but I have another job, so if you want to take this one, it’s yours.
They’d talked the day before about how Elisa was bored and needed work.
Gwen worked for two dog walking and pet sitting apps and often had more than enough work for herself, so she’d been trying to convince Elisa to join and take some jobs because, even if it wasn’t a long-term career plan for her, it was something to do, there was money in it, and she would get to hang out with dogs and other animals.
Elisa texted her back that she still hadn’t joined the app like she’d said she would but that she would join over the weekend.
Then, she got an idea, so she looked up local shelters and checked out the rescues they had listed as available for adoption.
Falling in love with every single dog, Elisa had no clue how she could decide on a pet for herself and the kids.
Well, mostly for her because, for the first time in her life, she was going to do something for herself.
Leaving her husband had been that to a degree, but she’d still been convinced to stay and live in the guest house, which she had done for the kids.
Now, she was about to be without them, and she wanted a companion.
Sure, in the future, that could be another person, and maybe that person would be Myra, or it might not work with them, and it could be someone else, but she was at a point where she wanted someone who would love her unconditionally, so she was getting a pet.
She did decide that she should check something first.
Elisa Benedetti : Fan of dogs, or no? Allergies?
She expected Myra’s reply to take a while, but instead, she got those three typing bubbles within a minute.
Myra Davies : I love dogs. Why?
Elisa smiled and messaged her back.
Elisa Benedetti : I’m thinking about getting one, so I’m just making sure you aren’t horribly allergic if you’re going to be here, working on the house.
Myra Davies : So, this only has to do with the fact that temporarily I will be working on your house? No other reason you’d need to check to make sure I don’t have some horrible dog allergy or traumatic dog-related event that might prevent me from coming to your house or us spending time together?
Elisa laughed to herself and replied.
Elisa Benedetti : No other reason I can think of. You?
Myra Davies : I love dogs. I don’t have one now because I work too hard and I’m usually not home for ten hours at least six days a week, but if you want one, you should get one.
Even if I had an allergy, you should still do it.
We’d have to sit outside or be at my place all the time, but you should do what you want, Elisa.
Elisa Benedetti : Can dates be at animal shelters? Not the one tonight, but maybe another one? If this one goes well, we could go meet some dogs in person.
Myra Davies : I’d love to go play with dogs with you and help you pick out your new family member .
Elisa didn’t have time to reply to that message because her doorbell rang. Having no scheduled-to-arrive packages or visitors, she walked to check the door to see if it was maybe a solicitor or something she just hadn’t been expecting. It was definitely someone she hadn’t expected.
“Archie,” she said, opening the door to her ex-husband.
“Elisa,” he replied tersely in that same tone he used for his patients.
He had never been known for his bedside manner, but his skills as a doctor were indisputable, and that fact had always made it hard for her to argue about how he spent his time.
He was a great doctor and helped hundreds of patients, but that meant that he couldn’t be home as often as she or the kids would have liked.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “Where are the kids? Are they okay?”
Elisa looked around him at his car, which was parked in the driveway, but she didn’t see AJ or Adele inside.
“They’re fine. They’re at home,” he said. “Can I come in?”
“Archie, what’s going on?”
“Can I come in, Elisa? I’m standing on the porch, for crying out loud.”
She wished she had that porch swing right about now because she didn’t want him to come in. The house wasn’t a mess or anything, but it wasn’t at all fancy like the house they used to share, and she knew he would judge her.
“Are you here visiting Gwen or something?” she asked, knowing the answer.
“What? No,” he replied as if that had been a ridiculous question. “Can I come in, Elisa?” he repeated, looking around as if people were standing on the street staring at them.
“Fine. But you can’t stay long. I have plans.”
“Plans?” he asked as she let him walk inside past her.
“Yes, I have plans tonight, and I need to get ready.”
“Is Gwen taking you to one of those bars she goes to all the time?” he asked and looked around her house with the mild look of disgust she’d seen him show before when they’d ordered food at a restaurant and it had been overcooked.
“She doesn’t go to bars all the time. Who told you that?”
“She mentioned meeting that girlfriend of hers at a bar.”
“Once, about three years ago,” Elisa replied.
“Well, she’s not doing much else, is she?”
“She has a full-time job, Archie.”
“Can I sit?” he asked, motioning to her sofa.
“Fine,” she replied.
“Good. I need to talk to you about something serious, so not about my little sister’s job . At least Grant got a decent job and didn’t learn from her.”
“Archie, what do you want?”
“I talked to the kids last night. That’s why I’m here. And I didn’t want to do this over the phone, so I drove two-plus hours and canceled on patients so that I could tell you.”
“Tell me what?” she asked as she sat down on the sofa but left all the space she could between them.
“They want to stay with me until they go to school.”
“What? Since when?”
“Elisa, you moved them here three months before all of their friends, whom they had known since they were born, were about to separate for different colleges. You know how close they are to their friends, and yet, you insisted that you couldn’t stay in the guest house another minute, even though it was best for them for you to be there and not move them here. ”
“What’s best for them …” she said, shaking her head.
“You’re actually sitting here, pretending to care about what’s best for your children?
Where has this been the first eighteen years of their lives, Arch?
You literally had women parading in and out of the house with them sitting right there, eating breakfast across from their mother, and you didn’t seem to care about what damage that would do to them when they were still trying to get over the–”
“You’re trying to talk to me about this?
Really, Elisa? You left me. You asked for the separation.
Hell, before that, you basically told me to cheat on you because you didn’t want to have sex with your own husband.
Of course, I know why now , but somehow, it’s my fault that I wanted to date after you divorced me? ”
“I don’t care that you were dating, but–”
“But nothing. It doesn’t matter. I didn’t come here to rehash this. I can date whomever I want and sleep with anyone I want now. You’re no longer my wife, so you can stop playing the victim any day now and just focus on the kids.”
“God, how did I stay with you for almost twenty years?” she said.
“I hear you talk now – and you’ve always been this way – but I hear it now, and I hate myself a little bit because I never should’ve put up with your bullshit.
Not even for a second. I should’ve moved back to Illinois and raised the kids on my own. ”
“Whatever, Elisa. I just came here to tell you that they wanted me to talk to you about this because they didn’t want to hurt your feelings.
They’ll probably be by to pick up some stuff, and they’ll come back right before they leave, so you can drop both of them off, if you want.
I don’t really have the time to do that.
I don’t have the time to be here right now.
” He looked at his watch. “I have to start driving home, or I’ll get stuck in traffic.
Anyway, I suspect that they’ll want to stay with me during their breaks, too, probably at least for the first couple of years since that’s when everyone still comes home.
Then, they’ll all make new friends wherever they are and stick around campus for the summers.
Since I know all that will be hard on you, though, I’m extending an olive branch.
” He stood up. “If you want to move back into the guest house, you can. That way, you can spend the rest of the summer with them. I’ll even let you come back for their breaks as long as you don’t bring anyone with you. ”
“Bring anyone?” she asked, knowing the answer again.
“No dates or girlfriends.”
“I’m sorry; what ?” Elisa laughed because she couldn’t think of anything else to do.
“They don’t need to see that, Elisa. ”
“But they need to see you bring random women home?”
“That’s different.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m bringing women home, and you should be bringing men , but you lied to me for almost two decades. Now, you’re just acting like my aimless little sister, and I don’t want the kids to see it.”
“They’re my children, Archie. They’re going to see it. They know I’m gay.”
“It would’ve been easier if you hadn’t told them.”
“Easier for you, yes,” she replied. “But not me and not them. They’ve supported me.”
“They haven’t seen you bring a woman home yet. And I don’t plan on them seeing that at my house, either.”
“Well, that doesn’t matter because I’m not going to be at your house. I live here now, and so do the kids.”
“They’re eighteen, Elisa. It’s their choice now. The custody agreement we made when they were seventeen doesn’t apply anymore. So, technically, they can come and go as they please. They’re just trying to be nice to you because they know you’re alone here.”
“If my kids have an issue with living here or with me dating women, they can tell me themselves, Archibald.”
“You can call them, then. They’re at the house. They’ll tell you the same thing I just told you, Elisa. Let them have the rest of their summer and think about what I said. I don’t care if you’re in the guest house. Don’t bring anyone around, and you can stay there for every break.”
“I’m not–”
“I’ve got to go. I’m starving and need to pick up food on the way home. Is there anything good around here?”
“In New Orleans? You’re asking me if there’s any good food in New Orleans ?”
“Fuck it,” he said as he walked toward the door. “I’ll just have Mary make me something when I get home.” He turned back to her. “And that’s not a random woman. I hired a housekeeper, and she cooks for me most nights. ”
“Sleep with whomever you want, Arch. I really don’t care. Just don’t–”
“I’ll see you around, Elisa,” he interrupted her as he opened the front door. “If you’re going to stay in the guest house, though, can you park in the back? I don’t want your car taking up space in the driveway.”
He left, closing the door behind him, and she rushed to lock it because she didn’t want to risk him walking back in to say anything else hurtful.
She had thought he had gotten his anger out already, that he had gotten his revenge by walking women in and out of the house, showing her that he could get whomever and whatever he wanted, but this wasn’t something she had been prepared for.
She hated herself for it, but she fell back against the door, crouched onto the floor, and sobbed.