Chapter Ten #2
I kept my voice nonchalant. “Yeah, a while. She went in another direction, and I guess I like where I am.” I decided I’d keep that response for the next time. Everyone seemed to know Veronica.
“Ah. Amicable breakup, then?”
“Very.”
“I’m glad. Do you know Ally?”
I nodded. “I’ve known her forever.”
“They’re so good together. The four of us just went to New Orleans.”
I smiled darkly. “Couples trip. Nice. Well, if we’re done, I need to get going.”
She jumped up. “Of course. Sorry…I shouldn’t have gotten off topic.”
“No, it’s absolutely fine. It’s amazing how small this city is.”
“It really is. Good to officially meet you!”
I nodded and shook her hand again. “Let’s go, old man.” I didn’t realize I’d used Lisa’s name for him at first. It almost made everything better.
Ollie couldn’t get out the door fast enough.
He pulled me until he was right at the edge of the office while I paid, then turned and gave me a jerk as I put my credit card away.
“Well, that was lovely,” I said once we were back on the sidewalk.
“And by the way, you’re perfect just the way you are. Let’s get a treat.”
Ollie jumped into the passenger seat and gave my cheek a big lick.
I was irritated the rest of the afternoon.
I tried to write a little, but I was distracted.
I finally went out and mowed the lawn even though it was mostly brown and didn’t need it.
While I was busy, I realized I hadn’t texted Veronica since I’d caught her at the grocery store.
As far as she knew, I had no idea she was in town.
I actually stopped what I was doing, took my gloves off, and got my phone out.
Hey…Hadn’t heard from you for a while. How are things going? Fine here.
I stuffed my phone back in my pocket, feeling shaky and mad at myself for having to do that. I didn’t know if it was a fuck you move or if I really missed her and wanted to get a text back.
It didn’t come. Complete silence. I figured she was still at work, so I cleaned up, then went in and perused my fridge and freezer for dinner.
There was nothing attractive. I was about to head out to a restaurant when my phone buzzed on the counter where I’d left it.
Although it made me sick, I jumped at it.
It was Lisa. Much better than any of the alternatives. Hey. Have you eaten?
No. You want to go out and get something?
I just stopped at Romano’s and have more food than I can eat in a week.
Excellent. Your place or mine?
I’m on my way.
“Your favorite person is on her way,” I told Ollie.
He gave a little wuf from where he was lying in the hallway, but didn’t look up.
My favorite person was on her way. I went back to the kitchen and pulled out dishes and silverware.
I contemplated whether or not to add wine glasses, but decided against it in case it made it look too much like a date.
In just another moment, there was a knock on the door.
“You can just come in, you know.”
Lisa looked a little surprised but smiled.
She was holding a huge paper bag and a bottle of wine.
She was also wearing good slacks, a nice blouse, and a jacket, and her hair was down.
I’d never seen her in anything other than a T-shirt and hoodie with shorts or jeans.
“This might need to go in the microwave.”
Please don’t let this be tofu. I wasn’t sure if Romano’s even sold tofu; it was an Italian market with both hot to-go food and frozen homemade pasta and sauces.
To my delight, it was meat ravioli, cheese ravioli, red sauce, Italian spinach, and crusty bread.
“I think it’s warm enough. It looks wonderful.
I love Romano’s. And…” I glanced back at her shyly. “You look really nice.”
She laughed shortly. “Spent the day in court.”
“Oh this was your court date. With Corey?”
“Yep. Do you have a corkscrew? I’m glad you were home or I would’ve had a couple bottles by myself.”
“I have more.” I opened the wine, pulled glasses off my shelf, and brought in serving spoons. I gathered she wasn’t in a great mood, so I waited until we’d dug in and eaten quite a bit before I broached the subject. “So did everything go okay?”
“Yes. I shouldn’t be in a mood. I don’t know why, but I kind of am.”
“It’s okay. I’m sure it was stressful and it’s hard to come down after something like that.”
She nodded and took a deep drink from her wine glass. “So I am officially divorced.”
“Congratulations. Is that the right thing to say?”
She smiled. “Yeah. It is.”
“How long did this take?”
“Almost three months.”
“It seriously takes that long even without kids?”
She nodded. “With kids it can take forever. This was as easy as it gets, no-fault, nobody asking for alimony. Just bye-bye, we’re done.”
“But you get the house.”
“That was our deal. I didn’t bring up his infidelities, I got the house. I did pay him a bit, but we sat down and decided who got what furniture.”
“That’s incredibly civilized.”
“I guess. The judge said it was one of the most amicable divorces she’d ever come across.”
The word amicable caught me hard after hearing the same word from the vet today. “So you didn’t have to go into…”
“Not at all. No mention of me being a lesbian or him being a whore. Just irreconcilable differences, no blame thrown. Just that we don’t want to be together anymore. That’s it.”
“That’s good. I’m glad.”
“I’m just glad it’s over.” She sighed and stared out the back window. “God, I’m glad it’s over.”
“That’s a lot to go through.”
She nodded, then looked at me deliberately like she was done with that. “How was your day?”
“Pretty good classes, then we went to the vet.”
Lisa looked back at Ollie, who hadn’t moved from the hall. “Oh no! Is my old man sick?”
“Just checkup and shots. The vet says he needs to lose a few pounds,” I whispered, “but we don’t agree with her.”
“No body shaming. All is well though?”
I nodded. “Clean bill of health. What?”
“There’s something else, then.”
I sighed. “Jesus, am I wearing it on my shirt? The vet knows Veronica.”
“Whoa. How did you find that out?”
“She said she recognized me from somewhere. Apparently, she and Ally are very happy together. They vacation with the vet and her wife.”
“Gross.” Lisa thought for a moment. “So do you have a picture of this Veronica? She seems to be world-famous, and I want to know what to imagine.”
“I guess.” I pulled out my phone and scrolled through several handsome shots of Ollie until I got to the Veronica era. I chose carefully, nothing suggestive. I came up with one from a day of kayaking on the river. “Here you go.”
“Huh.” Lisa studied it for a long time. “She’s not what I expected when you said lawyer.”
“Her personality is all that and then some.”
“She’s pretty. Looks like she was having a good time.”
I shrugged and scrolled to another. “This is with her new girlfriend.”
Lisa’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“We were all friends.”
“Wow. What they say about lesbians having dated all of one another’s exes is totally true. She’s not nearly as cute as you.”
I could feel my cheeks going hot. I passed her the phone one more time. “Nah. This is from one of the hoity-toity charity balls last fall.”
Now, Lisa’s eyes went wide. I thought she had changed her mind about Veronica only being “pretty” but she looked up at me, floored. “You look fucking amazing. I mean, I prefer this…” She waved at me in my current state. “But Jesus, the hair and makeup and…How do you even do that?”
I grinned sheepishly, sort of sorry I’d shown her that picture but not really. “I can clean up nicely. It’s not really me, though. Enough,” I said, setting my phone down. “I don’t want to think about her anymore.”
The moment I left it on the table, my phone started to buzz. Mom came up on the screen. I stared at it, but did not make a move to touch it.
“Do you want to get that?”
“Nope.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” I let it go to voicemail, but instead of it showing I had a message in a moment, it rang again. “Oh God damn it.”
“It’s a double call. You better take it.”
I sighed and headed into the kitchen. “Forgive me for what you’re about to hear. Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?”
“Hi, Samantha. Everything’s fine here.”
I made frustrated motions at the refrigerator. “What’s up?”
“Seth’s soccer team is undefeated. Kevin and Missy are so proud.”
“Well, that’s good, so long as he still likes it. Listen—”
“He loves it. He’s the athlete. You know, Asher likes playing, but he’s more of a science person.”
“That’s fine. I’m glad they’re all starting to find the thing that makes them happy. Mom, I have—”
“It’s so fun watching them become their own little people.”
I finally got it out. “Mom, I have company. I need to go in a moment, okay?”
“I’ll be quick then. It’s your father’s birthday this Saturday. You are coming home, right?”