His eyes turned dark. His lips pinched. “Are you sure?”
Once again, I was misjudged by a man who thought I would literally give in to what he wanted. “One hundred percent.”
He sighed like there was a pain in his side. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to let you go.”
Shock rippled through me. “What?”
“As I said, you’re not a team player and you demonstrated today that putting the patient first was difficult for you. Here at this office we strive to make the patient feel as comfortable as possible. Gather your things. You’re fired.”
He left the office without another glance.
I sank down in the desk chair that was no longer mine.
I guess that answered that.
This day most certainly could get worse.
4
Talie
We met at an outdoor restaurant, one of the nicest in Raleigh. Over the smooth concrete patio was a huge white gazebo dripping in spring flowers in the color of lilac. The tables were all pristine white and the white chairs were adorned with apple-green and strawberry-colored cushions. It wasn’t hot, partially because it was only eleven a.m. but also because there were ultra-quiet, discreet fans tucked around the eatery to ensure a cooling breeze.
The servers were all dressed in white with the men wearing bright-green ties and the females wearing strawberry-colored ones. All of them walked with grace and many carried large glass pitchers of lemonade and ice water.
My steps faltered when I saw Jack sitting at the table with Joanna. I rarely saw him, except for holidays and special occasions. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever seen him this early in the day on a workday.
As I made my way to the table, I couldn’t help but notice what a beautiful couple they made. Joanna with her thick, luxurious hair that was always sleek, even sitting outside in the southern humidity. She was wearing a lemon-yellow cardigan with a necklace made of white metal flowers. Her figure was thin and tight despite giving birth to twins. Jack was sitting to her left and he was dressed in a dove-gray suit, white dress shirt, and peacock-blue silk tie. His face was shaven and smooth, and his hair was the color of caramel. In all honesty, I’d always thought he looked a little like a young version of the late John F. Kennedy.
Neither of them spoke. In fact, they looked off in opposite directions, and it struck me that while they looked beautiful together, they didn’t look like they were connected at all. Of course, I knew better. Joanna’s life was perfect, right down to her marriage. I knew she and Jack were close. She just thought showing too much affection in public was inappropriate.
They looked up when I approached the table. Joanna smiled and Jack stood up like the southern gentleman he was. After I was seated across from him, he settled beside my sister again.
“Thank you for meeting me for lunch,” I said.
“Of course,” Joanna said, looking me over. I felt the scrutiny of her gaze, but for once I didn’t worry about it. I was too tired to care that I likely didn’t measure up. “You look tired.”
Being cheated on, fired from my job, and sleeping on my best friend’s couch (because I was practically homeless) made a girl sort of tired. After getting canned at work yesterday, I went back to Claire’s and had a good cry. Then I cleaned her apartment (I thought maybe cleaning could be my new therapist since I had to fire Dunkin Donuts) before drowning my sorrows in a couple margaritas.
My life was literally falling apart and I had no idea where to even begin to rebuild it. It was almost too much too soon. I walked around feeling the weight of a thousand pounds. It was hard to breathe, hard to move, and the constant nagging of my worried thoughts threatened to drive me slowly insane.
This was not how my life was supposed to be.
I decided not to comment on the fact I looked tired. Instead, I changed the subject. “I’m surprised to see you here,” I said to Jack.
He smiled and sipped at his ice water. “You’re family,” he said simply.
The simple statement eased a little of that pressure in my chest. I might be losing everything, but I did still have my family. I took a moment before I replied, afraid my wobbly voice would betray me.
“Joanna asked you to draw up divorce papers?”
She made a little sound of protest, but I ignored her. The waitress approached our table and Joanna waved her away, requesting a few more moments.
“I have to say, I was surprised by the request,” Jack said.
“Well, I was surprised when I found Blake having sex with another woman,” I snapped.
“Talie!” Joanna scolded. She looked around to make sure no one had heard. Like I was admitting to some contagious disease.
“What do you want me to say, Jo-Jo?” I asked wearily. “I can put a bow on it and make it sound prettier, but it’s still the same.”
“This is what I was afraid of,” she said, glancing at Jack. Their eyes met and they did that silent husband-wife communication thing.
Blake and I never did that.
“I’m sitting right here,” I reminded them.
Joanna sat back and Jack leaned forward. “Are you sure you’ve thought this through?” he asked. “You’re under duress. You aren’t yourself. Maybe you should take some time and think.”
And that was why Jack was here. Joanna wanted backup. She thought he might talk me out of a divorce.
I looked him straight in the eye. “Have you ever cheated on my sister?”
Joanna gasped and sat forward. Jack seemed unperturbed by the question. Damn lawyers always kept their cool.
“Of course I haven’t.”
“And if you did, would you expect Joanna to stay with you?”
He cleared his throat, finally showing a little bit of unease.
“This is absurd, Natalie,” she hissed, using my full name.
“Would you?” I asked her. “Stay with him?”
“We have children,” she said, as if that explained everything.
I took that as a yes.
I lost a little respect for my sister in that moment. Maybe it wasn’t fair of me to judge her, but wasn’t that what she was doing to me at this very moment?
“Can I see the papers?” I turned to Jack.
He reached below the table and pulled a black briefcase into his lap. The stack of papers was neat and tidy, all stapled together with a single staple. A stack of papers and a pen was all I needed to end my marriage. To change my life. It seemed that after I promised to love someone forever through the good and bad, it shouldn’t be so easy to undo all those promises.