- 2.
Chad didn’t come home for the next two weeks.
I was sorting through Mom’s things, burying her ashes.
He was out with Sierra, shopping, drinking,
watching the sunrise.
Not a word from Chad.
But Sierra posted non–stop videos
<
off how much Chad adored her.
The attention, the patience, the adoration.
Everything I didn’t have, Chad gave to her in
spades.
I was blocking Sierra’s number for the
seventeenth time when Chad finally showed
- up.
He handed me a bunch of flowers that were
already wilting, acting like he’d just gotten
back from a business trip.
“Baby, I’m so tired. Can you make me some
noodles?”
Chad wasn’t even trying to hide the hickey on
his neck.
Or the cloying perfume that made me want to
gag.
When I didn’t react, he frowned.
“Still mad about Sierra? You know, this is
partly your fault. She was just kidding around,
but you snapped at her, so I had to spend
く
some time cheering her up.”
“Come on, don’t look like that. I’ll replace the
flowers, I’ll have someone bring over a new
kitten. And Mom… I already got her the best
heart doctor in the country, you don’t need to
worry.”
My heart twisted, and I almost broke down.
It had been almost a month since Mom died,
and Chad didn’t care, not even a little bit.
He was lying to me, and badly.
I looked at him, fighting back tears.
He was texting Sierra, not even noticing my
pain.
In three years, he’d forgotten everything we’d
been through.
Tears streamed down my face.
Chad looked up, startled. He reached out to
comfort me.
“Don’t cry, Evie. I’ll stay home more, okay?”
His phone rang.
“Chad, where are you? The party’s starting,
and Sierra’s been waiting forever!”
Chad glanced at me, hesitated.
Then he said, “Okay, Evie, I promised I’d be
with you, and I meant it. Let’s go out, have
some fun.”
He grabbed my arm and dragged me to the
car.
I opened the passenger door and saw a pair
of pantyhose.
Chad tossed them in the trash.
“Sierra likes to play around. You know how
she is.”
I didn’t explode, like Chad expected. I calmly
wiped down the seat with rubbing alcohol.
Chad looked surprised. He instinctively
covered up a photo of him and Sierra on the
dashboard.
He tested the waters. “You’re not mad?”
“Not really.”
<
I stared out the window.
The moment Chad signed those papers, he
became a stranger. Not worth getting angry
about.
The whole ride was silent.
Chad tried to say something, but he didn’t
know what to say.
Ever since he’d brought up the open
marriage, we couldn’t have a normal
conversation anymore.
Only fights and anger.
I didn’t even have the energy for that now.
Mom’s death had taken everything out of me.
I just wanted to get through these last few
days.
End this terrible marriage for good.
