by ML Nystrom
It was clear he did not.
One more item toward the bottom of the list of purchases caught his eye. A man’s pinky ring for fourteen thousand dollars. He closed his eyes, counted to ten, and opened them again. The number of zeroes didn’t change. A knife stab really didn’t describe the pain in his heart. More like two hands grasped the fragile organ and ripped it in half. The real shocker? He wasn’t surprised. Again.
Garrett had spent Thanksgiving with his brothers in Asheville just a few weeks ago. Joy refused to go, telling him firmly, “There’s no way I’m going to some bumfuck mountain town.” She went to the shore, and he traveled to his brother’s place. It felt good to be back in his family’s company, and the warm welcome made him long to be near them again.
He looked at his drained and over-extended accounts, the dusty kitchen, the furniture he still owed on, the house that held it all, and made a decision.
His thumb scrolled to the page where he could request a new card and cancel the old one. He typed in Connor’s address for the card to be sent and changed all of his passwords for banking, email, Facebook, and any other platform he could think of that Joy had access to.
She lay facedown on the bed, passed out cold. Garrett gathered all of his clothes and stuffed them into a laundry bag. She didn’t move when he cleared his toiletries from the bathroom, packed the few books he had on the shelf, and put his laptop in the shoulder satchel. The family picture was the last item he picked up to take with him. It sat next to a picture of him and Joy in happier times. Both of them were smiling at the camera in a candid shot. She stood behind him with her arms around his neck. At the time of the picture, he thought she loved him. He realized now she had him in a chokehold, not an embrace.
Most of his tools already sat in the back of his truck. He disassembled and fit in as many of the larger industrial ones as he could. The table saw, the band saw, an air compressor, a chest of hand tools, the wood lathe, all of them piled into the truck bed like a jigsaw puzzle. When he was done, the only bits left were two work benches, a broken hammer drill, and a few duplicate hand tools hanging from some cracked pegboard he’d been meaning to replace.
One last walk through the house to see if there was anything else important to him. Nothing. Not the luxury furniture, not the expensive unused appliances, not the decorations, not the Christmas tree nor the presents under it. He thought about jamming a couple of the kitchen gadgets in whatever space he had left in his truck, but he had no desire to keep anything. He looked at the pile of colorful wrapped gifts. There was no ring box with his name on it.
He opened his phone and fired off a text to Connor.
Garrett: Is it okay if I drive to Asheville and hang for a few days?
The three dots started bouncing.
Connor: Hey, Garrett! You’ve got Beverly. Connor is outside building an igloo with Jacob and Mattie. At least that’s what they said they’re doing.
She sent a picture of his brother and two boys rolling in some powdery snow, trying to shove handfuls down each other’s backs.
Connor/Bev: Surprise trip! Love to see you. When are you arriving? I’ll get the guest room ready.
Garrett: Leaving Jersey now. Drive will be about ten hours if I don’t stop.
Beverly: LOL, I’m sure you’ll have to stop at least once to pee and get food. Restaurants are going to be hard to find. Might have to settle for service station burritos. Yuck! We have plenty of turkey and other Christmas food. I promise not to let Mattie hoover up the whole pumpkin pie. He’s in another growth spurt and already ate all the Chex Mix I made yesterday. I’ll tell Connor to call you when he thaws. Unless this is an emergency. Do you need him now?
Garrett: No emergency. I’ll explain later.
Beverly: Okay, G-man. Owen and Melanie will be by later. We’ll all call you on speaker phone while you’re driving. Pass the time a bit. Please be safe and keep checking in on the way. Can you do that GPS share thing where you show us your location while you drive?
Garrett: I’ll figure it out.
Beverly: Cool. The boys will have fun watching your trip progress.
Garrett: Thanks, Bev.
Beverly: Anytime, Garrett. You never have to ask about visiting or staying here. This door is always open for family. Love you muchly and see you soon!
Garrett’s throat closed, and he had to swallow hard. Connor lucked out big-time when he found Beverly. No questions, judgements, or excuses. She welcomed him anytime into her house and heart. Whether by design or not, she didn’t ask about Joy.
Beverly: Merry Christmas! Look what Sarah showed me how to do!
A sparkling pine tree GIF appeared.
Beverly: See? I’m all technologically brilliant now.
Garrett smiled at his goofy sister-in-law as he closed the door to his house and got in his truck. He plugged his phone into the charger and sent the link to his Google maps trip. As he pulled out of the driveway, the first tears rolled down his cheeks. He let them fall unheeded in the cab of his truck where no one could see or hear him. Not many cars were in the neighborhood and even fewer on the highway as he pointed his vehicle south and west. Each mile that ticked off on the odometer lightened his heart.
Two
I shifted from a plank pose to a downward-facing-dog pose. My back stretched in protest as the tight muscles pulled, and one shoulder audibly popped. My sister frowned alongside me from her own perfect yoga form.
“We’re just in the warmup stages, Bertie. At this rate, you’ll be worn out before we get to the good stuff.”
“I could have stayed at home and scarfed down a box of Frosted Flakes.”
Her grimace deepened. “Please tell me you don’t really eat that stuff?”
I grinned through the painful shift to upward-facing-dog. This time my hips argued with my knees on which part stressed more. “I’m a single woman living alone. Cereal for dinner is always an option.”
“At least eat a healthy cereal. Tony the Tiger is cute, but there’s a year’s worth of sugar in one box.”
“That’s the best part of being a single adult. No one can tell me what cereal to buy or when to eat it.”
She moved into locust pose. I took one look at the arched back and lifted knees. “No way.”
“Just try.”
“I’ll break something if I do that now. I’ll have to work up to it.”
She sighed and relaxed into the mat.
Christmas had come and gone, and New Year’s Eve loomed in a few days. Jodie and her husband, Jerry, had hired a sitter and wanted to take me to some big party at the Omni Hotel. I already smelled a setup, as Jodie had dropped a few hints about some friends of Jerry’s that would be there. I loved my sister to pieces, but she didn’t get it. I had no interest in meeting anyone or getting involved. I was still getting used to being single again after the divorce. Nine years, Karl and I lived and worked together. The split ended up as a mutual decision.
“I hate that you’re by yourself so much. I wish you’d let me set you up with some good men I know.” Jodie twisted herself into a form that looked like a pretzel. She did this with such ease, I wondered if she had flexible rubber rods instead of bones.
“You did set me up, and I met the most wonderful man.”
She shifted back and gave me an impatient glare. “Hiring your date to work on your renovations was not what I had in mind when I introduced you to Owen MacAteer.”
“His interest lay elsewhere. Besides, you did me a favor in that he is really good at what he does. So is his brother Connor. They’re coming out next week to go over the place and give me a full estimate on everything.” Something in my neck popped and released. “Oh, my goodness, this stretch feels so good!”
“It’s about time you started taking care of yourself.”
“I’ve always taken care of myself.”
“Mani-pedis and three-hundred-dollar haircuts don’t count. I’m talking about your health. I can’t tell you how happy I am you gave up smoking.�
��
“I still crave a cigarette now and again. Stress smoking was my thing, and since I’m not handling millions of dollars for other people anymore, that made quitting easier.”
Jodie’s new pose had her with her hands and feet on the mat in a tripod kind of thing and her knees placed on her elbows with her butt straight up in the air. How she could maintain that level of concentration and balance and hold a conversation all at once amazed me. I needed to do this yoga stuff more often. “Are you okay financially since the divorce? You’ve never really talked about it.”
I puffed a little and gave up on trying to get my leg to flex any higher. It dropped to the mat, and I shifted to my side with my head propped on my elbow. No formal yoga pose this time. “Karl bought me out of the Charlotte condo already. My stock portfolio is fantastic, and I’ve had some really good hits with personal investments. You don’t have to worry about me and money. I’ve got plenty and then some. If I get desperate, I can open my own consulting firm, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”
“Good. Then I expect a really nice birthday gift this year in the form of a Caribbean cruise for two while you volunteer to babysit the kids for a week.”
I laughed. “You think you can get Jerry to break away from work that long?”
“Nope. That’s why I’m going to kidnap him. I’ll ask him to come with me to the grocery store or something and drive us straight to the airport. I just gotta figure out how I trick him into getting on the plane for Florida. I’ll need your help to set it up, as timing is everything.”
I pondered her words. Yes, timing was everything. My skill in reading the market trends, knowing when to invest and when to sell, made my clients and myself a lot of money. Timing also made me get out of the eighty-hour work week and make the radical changes in my life. A cruise sounded so wonderful, I might have to consider one for myself.
“We’ll see how the renovation estimates stack up first before I buy you and Jerry a cruise.”
She blinked. “I was kidding about that. You don’t have to buy me a cruise, but I will take you up on the babysitting thing when we do go on one. I have another thought in mind if you’re interested.”
“I’m all ears.”
“There are some friends of mine who are interested in opening up a yoga studio and health spa kind of thing. They’ve talked about setting up a brick and mortar store for my clothing line, along with a place for classes, massage, and other stuff. Think you have the capital for that kind of investment, and are you interested?”
I smiled hugely. If only she knew how much capital I had, it would blow her mind. “I’m sure I can help. Do you have a business plan?”
Her sheepish grin told me what I already expected. “No, but I have this great sister who knows all about investments and business and planning.”
I laughed again. “I got it. Email me some information, and I’ll see what I can set up for you.”
“Deal. And speaking of setups, there’s this friend of Jerry’s at the car dealership. He’s really nice and looks like a big teddy bear.”
I groaned and rolled to my back. “Please, please, please, Jodie. No more blind dates. I’m not ready to jump back in the dating pool yet.”
She sighed and stretched out on the mat. I couldn’t tell if it was another yoga pose or if she had completed her workout. “I just want you to be happy.”
I smiled at my sister. “I am happy. I’m in a lot better place than I have been in a long time.”
She relented. “I’m sorry to keep pushing you. I guess it’s because Jerry and the kids are such a big part of my life and my identity. I don’t quite get the idea of being by myself. I’m the happiest being a wife and mother, and those roles don’t take away from me being a businesswoman or change who I am.”
“I love your concern for me, Jodie, but please understand, I’m good with my own company. Maybe someday I’ll be ready to share my life with someone, but I’ll make that call when I’m ready and not before.”
My sister sighed and rolled over to face me. Her long face told me she wasn’t happy with my wish to be single, but she seemed to come to a resolution. “Okay, I promise I’ll back off. You’re a big girl and have a life to rediscover. I guess I need to let you do it without interference.” She shifted smoothly to her feet and rolled up the mat. “Rhyleigh is single. Maybe I’ll start looking for her.”
“Who’s Rhyleigh?”
Jodie waved to the front of the class. “She’s the instructor for this class. The cute blonde up there in the black leggings.”
I glanced up to see the petite woman helping a class member with leg positioning. Her body showed lithe and lean in her yoga attire. She was a great teacher and had shown me nothing but kindness and patience since I joined the class. “I hope you’re ready for hurricane Jodie.”
Three
Garrett tipped his bottle back and swallowed the last of the beer. Gallaghers’ Pub had Guinness on tap, but there was a plethora of local brews, and tonight he intended on trying them all. The conversation he had with Joy on the day after Christmas had been tough. She had been contrite and in tears, but Garrett didn’t buy it this time.
“I’m so, so sorry, baby. I got really mad at you for taking that job on Christmas Eve. I know I shouldn’t have done what I did, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Please come home.”
He pressed his phone against his ear and leaned into the doorjamb with his forehead. Bev and her family wisely moved from the kitchen to the family room to give him some privacy. “You understood why I had to take that job, right? We’re drowning in debt. We really needed to be more careful about our money.”
“We meaning me.” Her voice got icy.
“I said we, and I meant we.” Garrett said the lie out loud, hoping she bought it.
“Oh, Garrett. I’m such a failure. I’ve been a bad girlfriend to you, and I’m so very sorry. I hope you can forgive me and take me back. I love you, baby. I really do. The thing with Randy, I promise it will never happen again. I was mad, and I got drunk and… well… it just happened. It didn’t mean anything to me.”
Randy. He pressed his forehead harder into the jamb, basking in the pain of the wooden ridge imprinting into his flesh.
“What about the ring?”
“What ring?”
“The pinky ring you bought with my business card.”
“I… uh… I bought it for you for Christmas.”
“A Superbowl-style ring. Big square with twelve diamonds. You bought that ring for me.”
“Yes, I did. It’s pretty, and I thought you’d like it.” Her tone changed from sobbing to defensive in less than a second.
“Joy, I told you a long time ago, I don’t and can’t wear rings. I work with my hands all day, and even a simple wedding band is risky. Anything else could be dangerous.”
“Well forgive me for buying you something nice.”
“You didn’t buy the ring for me, Joy. I saw the inscription on the online sales receipt.”
She fell silent.
“‘To my favorite music man.’ You’ve talked about the new band director at the high school, Randy Stanton, and how he asked for your help in putting on the spring musical this year. You can’t tell me that is a coincidence.”
“Look, Garrett, it was a mistake. I was drunk and—”
“You’re drunk a lot, Joy.”
Silence met him on the other end of the phone. Garrett guessed she was probably trying to decide between a sweet cajoling answer or to fuck off.
Garrett sighed. “Do you want to save this relationship?” The moment he uttered the question, his heart thudded in regret. He knew it was a mistake to try again, but he couldn’t help it.
“Yes, baby, I do. I love you, and I need you.”
There it was. The one line he couldn’t resist. ‘I need you.’ His biggest weakness and his biggest strength. He loved to be necessary, to be the rescuer, to be the one called in a crisis to come save the day. He never thought
he would get burned out on it.
“I can’t keep going this way, Joy. I need to see you get sober and stay that way. Can you do that for me?”
“I can try.”
“I still need some time. Connor has some work down here, and the money is good. We’ll talk in a few days, okay?”
“Okay, baby. I love you. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it.”
That was then. Today, after he booted up his phone, he received a string of texts that put them right back at square one.
Joy: When are you coming home, baby?
Joy: I miss you so much.
Joy: I’m saorry, okay? I get your mad at me.
Joy: It be nice if youd text me back. we can work it out. promise.
Joy: What the fuck?
Joy: Ho wlong you going to pumish me?
Joy: Asshhole
Joy: Go fuck yorself. I’m going out tongitrh and fuck the frist man I find.
Joy: Kisss my asssss!
Garrett had no doubt she would do it. There was also no point in trying to talk to her when she was drunk. In truth, there was no point in talking to her at all. Whatever love had been there was gone. Tomorrow, it would be January first. A new year and a new life.
Yeah, right. He faced a huge amount of debt and probably some legal property shit he hadn’t thought of yet.
He hadn’t intended on coming out tonight, but after that text chain, sitting home alone lost its appeal. Bev and Connor were out for the evening with the kids at their church’s New Year’s Eve party. Owen and Melanie’s plans were to stay at home, as Melanie was heavily pregnant. Both his brothers had invited him to spend the holiday night with them, but Garrett decided he would be intruding too much. Plus, he’d be exposed to a pair of blissfully happy couples. He loved that his brothers had found such wonderful women that fit them, but he didn’t want to be around the reminders of what he wanted with Joy and the reality of what he got.
