Page 12 of A Valentine's Day Gift
Vinny respected her wishes. She didn’t hear from him. She waited another month to be sure she was doing it for the right reasons, and then finally she faced William. He returned home late Friday night from the city. She’d arranged for the boys to spend the night at her parents’ house.
For the first time in a long while, she studied her husband as he walked into the kitchen, always his first stop home. He looked much older than his thirty-nine years. He ran his own law firm now with a partner, just as he’d wanted from the moment he’d graduated with his law degree. He worked an insane number of hours, and it was taking its toll. His light brown hair was thinning, he had bags under his eyes, lines in his face, and his skin was pale and sallow, like he hadn’t seen the sun in years. He mostly napped when he was home on the weekend or watched TV. For a moment she almost felt bad for throwing a wrench in his life. He probably wanted nothing more than to eat a late dinner and sit in front of the TV. But now she had to think of her needs not his. She’d found an affordable local lawyer to help her, though she knew William with his legal expertise would not make this easy.
She took a deep breath as he brushed past her on his way to the refrigerator. “William, I want a divorce.”
He turned to face her; his expression unchanged, tired and weary. Maybe they’d both known it was inevitable. “Okay.”
“Okay.” She let out a shaky breath. “I’d like full custody of the kids.”
“Done. I’ll say goodbye to them this weekend and move permanently to the city.”
Her gut clenched at his complete indifference. “You don’t sound surprised. Or upset about it. This was a difficult decision for me.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I think we both know this marriage died long ago.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
He lifted one shoulder. “You’re a good mother. I thought that would be enough.”
Agitation rose in her. “Would you have divorced me if I didn’t say anything?”
His lips pressed into a flat line. “I thought it would be better if it was mutual.”
Probably for legal reasons. Her temper flared. “Well, it definitely is!”
He looked around the kitchen, let out a sigh, and said, “I guess I’ll be going out to eat tonight. When will the kids be home?”
“Tomorrow by noon.”
“I’ll stop by then to say goodbye. My lawyer will be in touch with you on Monday morning. Goodbye, Allie.”
“Goodbye.”
He left, just as cold and distant as ever.
She stared at the floor. Not one shred of shame or sense of failure went through her. His cold dismissal had only confirmed she’d done the right thing. A sob bubbled up. She sank to the floor and cried for all the wasted time, for all the misery she’d waded through, thinking she was doing what was best for her kids, when none of it mattered. He was a cold hard man with no love for her at all. She wasn’t even sure if he loved their children. The only time he warmed to the kids was when they brought home good report cards. He wanted them to follow in his footsteps and join his law firm. But did he ever think about what was best for them? What they wanted to do with their lives?
After a while, she calmed and returned to her art studio, where she always felt happiest. Maybe she’d have to move when this was all said and done, but she had her little art studio now.
She’d know her future better on Monday morning.
