Chapter 35
Julia
The karaoke bar is decked out for the holidays.
Multicolored lights drape across the ceiling and twin fake trees glow in the back corners of the stage.
Someone has hung glittery snowflakes from the bottom of the neon sign that says “SING YOUR HEART OUT,” and the effect is both tacky and wonderful, like festive little disco balls.
“I can’t believe you’ve never done holiday karaoke,” I tell Ian as we push through the door.
“I didn’t even know it was a thing.” He holds the door for Heidi, who already has her nose in the signup app on her phone.
I love that he gets along with my friends. “Maybe we should make it our new tradition.”
Heidi lifts her head and grins. “Especially if you’re going to pay for drinks every year.”
Taking my friends out tonight is my way of saying thank you to Heidi and Nicole for helping me pack up my life into boxes and letting me crash in their TV room for weeks.
For holding me while I cried and feeding me when I forgot to eat.
I wanted to do something special now that I’m officially moved in with Ian and Nicole has her football sanctuary back.
“Pitcher of the Grinch, with extra cherries,” Ian tells the bartender, naming the non-alcoholic holiday special. The bartender, a young naiad with webbed fingers wearing reindeer antlers, pushes three glasses across the bar.
“Five,” I interject. “We’re expecting two more.” In addition to Heidi and Nicole, I impulsively invited Ashleigh, because tonight is also about celebrating my last day at work before the babies are born.
She’s been great lately. Not warm, exactly, but she encourages me to take extra breaks when my ankles start to swell, and she found a stool for me to use at the register so I’m not on my feet all day.
She also got the story time budget increased so we don’t have to buy the stickers and other prizes out of our own pockets.
We grab the glasses and snag a table near the stage. Ian slides into the seat next to me, his thigh warm against mine. Someone is murdering “Jingle Bell Rock” while a group of orcs in ugly Christmas sweaters cheers them on like they’re watching a championship beastball game.
Ashleigh shows up just as the bartender brings our pitcher of green, non-alcoholic concoction with dozens of red cherries floating in it. We all pour a glass and pick songs while we wait for Nicole.
Something’s off from the moment the door swings open to admit her. Her jaw is set and her forehead is furrowed, and she barely acknowledges the bartender’s greeting as she makes a beeline for our table.
“Nic?” Heidi’s already half out of her seat, arms open for a hug. “What’s wrong?”
Nicole squeezes her and then drops into a chair, signaling frantically for one of the glasses. “I need a drink.”
“Baby, talk to me,” Heidi says, filling one from the side of the pitcher so it gets plenty of ice and cherries along with the sweet, fruitcake-themed drink.
Nicole runs her hands through her short black hair so it sticks up, making her look even more frazzled. “My landlord emailed me today to let me know he’s not renewing my lease. I have to be out when it expires at the end of the year.”
My stomach tightens. Nicole has had her martial arts studio in the same location for well over a decade. She’s built her whole business there. “What?! Why? That’s such short notice!”
“We’ve always been casual about the paperwork, so I didn’t think anything of it when I didn’t get the renewal contract earlier.
Anyway, in the email, he said he’s got other plans for the space, which is bullshit,” Nicole says flatly.
“That building has been half-empty for years. If he needs space, he already has it.”
Heidi hands her the glass, and Nicole downs half of it.
“That’s so weird,” Heidi says. “You’ve always had a good relationship with him.”
“I know. So I drove over to his office so we could talk in person. Asked what the hell was going on.” Nicole stares into her glass, tapping her nails against it anxiously.
“He wouldn’t look at me. Kept shuffling papers, making excuses.
Finally, I told him I wasn’t leaving until he gave me a straight answer. ”
“Did it work?” Ashleigh asks, sitting forward in her seat.
“Someone threatened him if he renewed it.” Nicole looks up, meeting my eyes. Ian’s hand finds mine under the table. I grip it tightly, already knowing what’s coming. “I finally got it out of him that it was Richard and some other guy.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. Ian growls low in his chest, a sound that makes the orcs at the next table glance over nervously.
“That son of a bitch,” Heidi breathes. “I didn’t want to mention it,” she continues, her voice careful. “But I’ve had some trouble at work lately, too.”
“What kind of trouble?” Ian asks grimly.
“Someone submitted a series of complaints to the school board about me. Anonymous, of course. They claimed to be a parent of students in the district and said I shouldn’t be allowed to teach middle schoolers because I’m a lesbian.
That I’m pushing some kind of agenda on the kids. ” She rolls her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nicole demands.
“My principal is handling it. He told the board the complaints were baseless. It’s probably going to be fine.” Her smile is weak. “I didn’t even consider that Richard might be behind it, but after hearing about your lease…it’s a real possibility.”
My throat tightens. After the petty stuff he’s done to me, it’s not hard to believe that he would try and punish someone for helping me. I hate that it has affected my friends.
Ashleigh tosses back the last of her drink and grimaces. “Unfortunately, I think there’s more.”
“What?” I can barely get the word out.
“Dog-Eared Pages has gotten a wave of bad online reviews. One-star ratings, complaints about rude service and dirty bathrooms. Dozens of them, all in the last couple weeks. The owner has been passing them on to me to fix the issues.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I say automatically. “We have the best customer service, and the store is spotless.”
“That’s what I told her. She’s working to get them removed because they’re clearly fake. But hearing all this stuff about your ex, the timing is suspicious, right?”
The pieces slot together in my mind, forming a picture I don’t want to see. Richard is trying to destroy everything I care about. Everyone who’s helped me. Everyone I love.
“This is my fault.” My voice comes out strangled. “I’m so sorry, you guys. I had no idea he was taking this out on anyone but me.”
“Hey.” Ian’s arm wraps around my shoulders, bolstering me. “This is not your fault. This is him being an asshole.”
“But if I hadn’t—”
“If you hadn’t what? Left an abusive marriage, something we’ve been telling you to do for years?” Nicole’s voice is fierce. “Julia, you did the right thing. If Richard wants to continue being a dick about it, the blame is on him.”
I know she’s right. But my heart is screaming that I’ve brought this down on the people I love.
“I’ll handle it,” I say, surprising myself with the steadiness of my voice. “All of it. I’ll make sure Richard stops and fixes everything he’s tried to break.”
“Babe, no offense, but how?” Heidi asks gently.
I think about the manila envelope stuffed with evidence about Richard’s shadier dealings. I’ve been hesitant to use it because of how it might affect the girls, but now the gloves are off. I’m going to hit him with everything I have. I sip my drink. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Just promise me you won’t get arrested,” Heidi jokes. “That’s what I always tell Nic when she gets one of her wild ideas.”
“I promise. Richard, on the other hand, might want to watch his back.” Everyone laughs, and the mood shifts after that. We let out our frustrations on the mic, one silly Christmas song at a time.
Heidi pulls me up for “Santa Baby,” and we get the whole bar singing along. We ham it up, flirting outrageously with the audience.
Nicole follows with an aggressive metal version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” directed at Heidi with enough intensity to make the couple at the table next to us fan themselves. She drops to her knees for the big finish, and Heidi pretends to swoon.
Ian takes on “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” It’s pretty awful, but he commits fully to it, throwing his head back on every howl, and the orcs in sweaters give him a standing ovation.
By the time we’re on our second pitcher of the Grinch, we’re doing group numbers and I’ve almost forgotten about Richard’s dickishness.
I’m just enjoying being surrounded by people who love me.
Belting out “Feliz Navidad” along with everyone else in the place, my hand on my belly where the babies are kicking along to the beat.
The only thing that would make it better is if the girls were here with me, too.
The next morning, Ian drives me to Mako Brinely, Esquire’s office, a modern building downtown. The lawyer is exactly what you’d expect from a great-white shifter in human form: tall, steely-eyed, with too many teeth that seem a little too sharp.
“Your husband has been sloppy,” Mako says as he sits across a conference table from me and flips through the contents of the background check. “He might think he’s untouchable because he has money and connections. He’s very wrong. We will destroy him with this. He will lose his will to live.”
I choke a little at his harsh tone. “I really just want a fair settlement. The girls’ education covered. Compensation for the years I supported his career. And I want him to stop harassing my friends.”
Mako sighs dramatically. “All disappointingly reasonable requests that a judge is likely to grant. You’re sure you don’t want anything I could really sink my teeth into?”
I think about my mother’s advice. Stop being nice. Treat him like the enemy he’s chosen to be.
“I want the house.”
His eyebrows rise. “The prenup specifically excludes it. It’s considered an asset that predated the marriage.”
“I don’t care. I want it for the girls. They grew up there, and I don’t want him to sell it out from under them.”
“Legally, you’re swimming against the current on that specific point, unless…
” Mako looks thoughtful as he flips through the photos and receipts, bank records and tax filings.
His smile widens, sharpening into something predatory.
“Perhaps you can convince him to offer it to you of his own accord, so this doesn’t have to go to court.
While I’m usually not one to sidestep a courtroom bloodbath, I find that most people will bite on a settlement if you dangle the right bait.
You might have to get your hands a bit dirty to put this worm on the hook, though. ”
“I don’t mind. He’s already fighting dirty.”
“Excellent.” Mako gets down to business, walking me through a plan to confront Richard with the evidence and use it to blackmail him into signing my “disappointingly reasonable” settlement proposal.
It takes about twenty minutes to hash out the details and another ten for his paralegal to prepare the paperwork. He walks me out to where Ian is waiting in the lobby and shakes both our hands.
“One piece of advice?” he adds, addressing me. “When you present this, don’t go alone. Men like your husband are bullies, and bullies back down when they’re outnumbered.”
“I won’t be alone, don’t worry,” I assure him.
Ian nods. “She has a pack now.”