Page 18 of Pity Play

“So, he walked out on you and left you to mourn the loss of three pregnancies by yourself?”

“That about sums it up.”

As our food arrives, I take a minute to try to calm the red-hot anger pulsing through my veins. When the server leaves, I announce, “I’m not a violent person, but I’d be happy to donate if you want to hire a hit on him. Barring that, I know where to slip a knitting needle to take him off this planet.”

Laughter erupts out of my friend, which is a wonderful sound, especially given the topic of our conversation. “You’re a good friend, Lorelai. But I think our parting ways was for the best. I don’t think Brett was the man for me. In fact, I’m pretty sure the universe was doing me a proper by getting rid of him.”

I take a bite of onion ring, and chew it thoughtfully before asking, “If that’s so, why are you always so sad? Like, seriously, Al, you’ve got no sparkle and that’s the thing you’ve always been known for.”

She smiles sorrowfully. “My doctor said that with every loss, my hormones went through the same shift as if I’d given birth. In addition, I’m mourning the loss of something I thought I really wanted to share with my husband.” As though defending herself, she adds, “It’s only been six months since my last miscarriage.”

Shock does not begin to describe my reaction to hearing this. “He left you right after you lost your last pregnancy? What a dirt bag!”

“Three weeks after. He said it was better for both of us to just move on.”

“Mother. Of. God. He was a monster!”

“Pretty much.”

“What did you do? I mean, I know you came back to Elk Lake but that was three months ago. Where were you in the interim?”

“The day Brett walked out the door, I packed up all his things and donated them to a homeless shelter. Then I changed the locks, my phone number, and I quit my job.”

“Amazing!” I marvel at her ability to think clearly enough to start sticking it to her loser ex.

“Then I took half the money out of our joint savings account, and I went to Europe.”

“Seriously?”

“I took a first class vacation the likes of which only royalty go on.” I take a giant bite of my burger and listen as she tells me, “I flew first class, I stayed in five-star hotels, and I ate solely atMichelin-starred restaurants. I spent half of our nest egg in eight weeks.”

“Allie, wow. I don’t know what to say.”

“I didn’t want any of the money we’d saved together because the life we were planning wasn’t going to happen. When I went back to Chicago, I found divorce papers that Brett had filed, so I signed them and moved out of our apartment. Luckily, we didn’t own it, so there was no delay in walking away.”

Morbid curiosity takes over. “Did you see him after that?”

She nods her head sharply. “I ran into him at our favorite restaurant. He was on a date.”

“He’d started dating already?” How did Allie never see what a dirtbag this guy was?

My friend swallows the bite of fish in her mouth. “Apparently, he didn’t wait until then. A woman from his office called me after he left and told me that I wasn’t losing much. She said that she and Brett had been having an affair. He left her, too.”

“She sounds like a piece of trash who got exactly what she deserved.” I have no sympathy for women who fool around with married men. None.

Allie shifts in her seat. “I wasn’t married toher.I was married to Brett. So, while I didn’t condone what she did, he was the one I was mad at.”

“I’m speechless.”

We eat silently for several minutes. As much as I love the taste of my food, I find that I’ve lost my appetite. Meanwhile, Allie finishes her fish and orders two more drinks. It’s a good thing I don’t work tomorrow. Not only am I going to have to take an Uber home, but I’m sure I’ll have a wicked headache in the morning.

When the server appears with our lemon drops, Allie orders a classic Pop’s hot fudge sundae with two spoons. Then she asks me, “What happened with your breakup?”

“I think we just got bored with each other. Michael was kind of dry to begin with and one day I just looked at him and realized Ididn’t want a future with him. I wanted something else, I just didn’t know what.”

“Do you know now?”

I’m not sure I’ve ever put words to what I’m looking for, but suddenly I realize exactly what that is. “I want to feel an internal tornado when I’m with the man I love. I want him to surprise me and help me grow into a better person. I want passion.”

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