Life After Perfect

by Nancy Naigle

  Peggy tossed the toothbrush tip down into the mug and then glugged out enough vinegar to cover the whole head of the toothbrush. As she swished the tight blue and white bristles through the vinegar, the smell wafted in the air. “It’s harmless. I promise, but toothpaste reacts to this vinegar and it will put a taste in his mouth that he is not going to forget for a long haul.”

  Katherine smiled. “Really?”

  “Oh, honey. The worst. We used to do this all the time at summer camp. It’s a little evil but so worth the price of a cheap bottle of vinegar.”

  “And a perfect comeuppance for that tooth-obsessed husband of mine. Did I tell you that the woman had teeth so white it looked like they were painted?”

  “Don’t think about her.” Peggy swished the toothbrush again. “Too bad we don’t have her toothbrush!” She lifted the toothbrush out and carried it like the Olympic torch up the stairs with Katherine at her heels. She set it back in the holder and they both stepped back with a satisfied grin.

  “Sometimes you just have to have a little win,” Peggy said.

  Katherine reached under the counter and took his teeth whitening kit. “May as well make that two.” She shoved the whitening kit into her bag. “I can’t do this. Whatever I’ve got, I’ve got. I’ll be back,” Katherine said, because if she didn’t leave now, she’d never be able to.

  “No. Not by a long shot. You need to grab all of your personal documents. The last bank statements, titles, all the important papers. Better to have them with you than to trust he’ll produce them.”

  “We have them in a safe downstairs.”

  “Leave the safe. Take the papers. He probably won’t even realize they’re gone for a while and that will play in your favor.”

  “How do you know all of this stuff?”

  “Shaleigh has been taking me through these paces for weeks. I paid for this advice. I’m giving it to you for free.”

  They took the suitcase downstairs and Katherine grabbed another tote bag from the hall closet and went into the office and filled it with the papers.

  “I’d move half the money today, and anything you don’t have, just buy. On his credit card. Not yours,” Peggy said.

  “Not sure I would really do that.” Although she had put her parking on his card, but that was twelve bucks . . . and a statement.

  “Do it. Trust me, if he turns into a jerk you’ll be happy, and if not you can always pay the bill.”

  “Good point.” She pulled the zipper closed on her bag. “Thanks for everything. I’ll call and check on you. You’ll call me if you need to talk.”

  “I will. We’re both going to be okay.”

  Katherine gave the place a look around.

  “It’s just stuff,” Peggy said. “I wish I’d been able to do what you’re doing. I’m so envious of you right this minute. No arguing. No bickering or name-calling.” Peggy hugged Katherine. “Call me. Anytime. Day or night. And if you need to come back, you can stay with me. Although I guess it could be a little awkward being right next door.” Peggy took the tote bag and slung it over her shoulder.

  “True. Thank you so much for being here today.” She grabbed her laptop bag, balanced it on top of the wheeled bag, and headed to the car with Peggy at her side. She put her suitcase and laptop bag in the trunk. Peggy tucked the tote next to Katherine’s suitcase, and slammed the trunk closed.

  Peggy dipped her hand into the back pocket of her capri jeans, and pulled out a tiny bow made from a thin, soft yellow ribbon. She handed it to Katherine.

  “What’s this?”

  “For good luck,” Peggy explained. “When I first found out about Tucker, I went to an infidelity support group.”

  “There’s a support group for that?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t stick it out, but one lady, the one who gave me that ribbon . . . she had some good advice.”

  “I can’t take it then,” Katherine said handing it back.

  “You sure can.” She pushed Katherine’s hand back. “I heard the message firsthand. I want to share it with you. You tuck that in your pocket, just like she told me to.”

  “Okay. I like the yellow,” she said giving it one last glance before putting it in her pocket.

  “The woman said yellow is the color of hope and optimism.”

  “And caution,” Katherine said, immediately regretting the snark in her voice.

  “Can’t argue that, but you’re going to struggle with what’s happened. There’ll be good days and bad days. You’re going to want to know why it happened, and you’ll probably blame yourself. Don’t. Trust me, I’m just ahead of you on this path. It’s hard. It strips you of your confidence some days, and makes you as angry as a hornet on others. Neither is good. Cheaters cheat. They are broken. You are not.”

  “Thanks, Peggy.”

  “You go out and find the life you were meant to have. And anytime you doubt that you can keep moving forward, you pull out this ribbon as a reminder that there’s hope for something better.”

  “Thank you, Peggy. I’ll keep that in mind.” Katherine took the ribbon back out of her pocket. “That’s a lot of responsibility for one little piece of ribbon.” She always joked when she was upset. It was an awful coping mechanism, but Peggy meant well, and she didn’t have any better plans, so she held the ribbon in her fist and clutched it to her heart for a long moment.

  “Seriously. I don’t ever want to feel this way again. Thank you for sharing this with me.” At that she tucked that ribbon into her front pocket and got into her car.

  She waved to Peggy, and then headed down the street, not allowing herself to glance back even once. There would be no looking back from now on.

  A few miles up the road, Katherine pulled into the parking lot of the bank branch nearest to her house with only a few minutes to spare before closing time. At least it wasn’t the bank she worked for. She worked at the corporate office of one of the biggest banks in the nation. No, Ron had been adamant about keeping their funds in this small local bank because he had hopes of being on the board of it one day. That and he sure liked being the big fish in the little pond. His dad had been on the board of their hometown bank and he’d do anything to match or better his dad.

  She glanced at her watch. The tellers were going to want to kill her for showing up at the last minute on a Friday night, but it was better to get this transaction done while she had the gumption to do so.

  She clutched the scrap of paper with the magic number on it, praying they hadn’t already locked the doors.

  “How are you today, Mrs. Barclift?” the branch manager said, recognizing her as soon as she walked in. If the late entrance frustrated him, he didn’t show it.

  He didn’t seem to notice her strained smile either. “Great. Things are great. I need to make a withdrawal from our savings today. Something special is going on.” She let out what she hoped sounded like a playful titter of excitement.

  “Come with me. I can help you with that.”

  Katherine had probably contributed sixty-five percent of the balance in their savings account, but Ron had paid for the vacations, so it would even out. Probably more in his favor, but she didn’t want one penny of his. She didn’t even want to breathe the same air that he did.

  She followed the branch manager into his office. The desk was piled with stacks of papers. A bookcase in the corner couldn’t have had more than a dozen books, but it was filled with family pictures. There was one of him with his wife. Him with his kids. The whole family. Him with the dog. Him with his boat. Every single picture included him. The whole world must seem to revolve around him.

  She’d been in the very chair she was sitting in dozens of times. Why hadn’t she noticed this about the photos before? All she’d ever noticed was that he seemed to have a really happy and busy family.

  At least this guy had pictures of his wife in his of
fice. She’d disappeared from Ron’s. How long ago had he done that? She couldn’t quite remember the last time she was actually there.

  She tugged the corners of her mouth into another smile. Not fair to judge everyone based on the behavior of a few.

  “I need this amount.” She pushed the paper across the desk.

  “Cashier’s check okay?”

  “Just fine.”

  “Who should we make it out to?”

  “To me.” He looked curious, but she wasn’t about to start offering up a story. He’d know she was lying anyway. “Easiest that way.”

  He plucked away on his keyboard, and then got up from his desk and went to the cashier’s window. A few minutes later he came back with the check in his hand.

  With the cashier’s check in an envelope, Katherine got back in her car. She tucked the envelope into the owner’s manual in her glove compartment and locked it.

  While she’d been waiting for the branch manager to get her check, Katherine had decided she’d head north. Might as well. It was June and the south was only going to get hotter by the minute. She’d head up toward Charlotte. She knew that route like the back of her hand from going there for work so often and trips to see her parents. It would be an easy drive and she knew she could grab a room and make the rest of her plan from there.

  For now, all she had to do was drive.

  She wondered how long it would take Ron to notice she was gone. Did he even know that she knew? If he’d been to the office, he might not come home at all.

  “I’ll probably be late tonight,” he’d said.

  Then, “You know how these things are, babe.”

  No. She didn’t know what it was like to go out of your way to cheat on and betray someone. And she never wanted to.

  She headed north, making good time compared to the heavier traffic in the opposite direction. She rolled down her window and let the wind blow through the car; it was warm, but less confining.

  An hour in, she took an exit to grab a Diet Coke from a drive-thru. After she placed her order, she thumbed through the old emails on her phone until she found the one she needed.

  She pushed speed dial to call the cell phone of the only person who needed to know what was going on. Shaleigh.

  The phone rang, but it went directly to voice mail.

  “Hey, gal. It’s me. I guess there’s something in the water around here. I need your professional services. I want the fastest divorce you can serve up. I don’t want the house. I don’t want half of his anything, just what’s got my name on it. I just withdrew half of all of our savings. God, this sucks. Call me and let me know what you’ll need from me. I’ll be on the road. Use my cell.”

  She pressed END, and expended a long exhale like she’d been sucker punched. At least she hadn’t broken down and cried.

  A sucker punch would be easier to explain to people. What would she say to her mother, her friends? How do you tell people that your husband is a liar? And why hadn’t he just left, rather than lie? She’d like to think that if he was unhappy, they’d have amicably divided and gone their ways.

  There was no going back.

  Forgiveness? Second chances? Those were for people who made mistakes, not for those who had done what Ron had just done.

  It was probably for the best that he hadn’t made her the priority when she’d called. If he had given her that fifteen minutes she had begged for while he sat just across the way, even after seeing him with someone else, she might have reasoned with herself that she was most important. That it hadn’t meant anything. There was no question about where things stood. His actions had made that abundantly clear.

  She clung to her phone like it was an IV pumping fluids that would keep her alive. Forcing herself to put the phone down, she clung to the steering wheel instead. While sweat, or maybe it was tears, wet her face, her mood ebbed and flowed as she passed each exit . . . further from what used to be home.

  By the time she hit Charlotte, the emotion of the day was starting to catch up with her, but she still felt strongly about what she was doing.

  She took the next exit and pulled into a gas station. After filling her gas tank, she got back into the car and called her mom.

  “Hey, Katherine, sweetheart, how’re you doing? I was just sitting here talking to your little sister, and Chloe’s been singing to us.”

  Great. Here it comes.

  “When are you and Ron going to give me some more grandchildren?”

  Right on cue. Katherine never could live up to her sister. Jacqueline farted rainbows in Mom’s eyes. Always had. Giving their parents their first grandchild four years ago was like getting extra points for fertility; and even when Jacqueline had divorced that husband of hers, everyone was so quick to blame him. Never her. At least Katherine wasn’t the first to get a divorce. That had to count for something.

  From the looks of things now, Katherine would never have a family. By the time she found someone new and started over, her eggs would be scrambled or hard-boiled. It was really going to suck to admit Ron cheated in front of Jacqueline.

  “I’m in the area. I know it’s late, but I thought I’d stop by. Can I bring some chicken or pick up a pizza?”

  “You’re here? In Charlotte?” The phone went muffled, but Katherine could still hear her mom telling her sister that she was in town, as if Jacqueline couldn’t have already figured this out by listening to the other end of the conversation.

  Her mom got back on the line.

  “Yeah. So you’ll be up for a while?” Katherine asked.

  “Yes! We’re delighted. Oh, but your sister says she doesn’t want pizza or fried chicken. Can you pick up something healthy to snack on?”

  She’d kind of hoped her sister was on her way out, and wouldn’t be there when she got there. She should have known. Her luck wasn’t good right now. She should have just made idle chitchat first before saying she was in town. There’d be no wiggling out of a visit now. “Sure. I’ll see y’all in a little while.”

  Katherine stopped and picked up some food and then drove across town to her parents’ house. It wasn’t the house she and Jacqueline had grown up in. Mom and Dad had only moved there a few years ago to be closer to Jacqueline after her divorce and help out with Chloe.

  Her insides swirled. Why had she even mentioned food? It wasn’t like she’d be able to keep anything down. But then if she hadn’t, Mom would have spent the whole visit prepping something and that really would have just been too much. It would be so much easier if she didn’t have to tell them, but she knew she had to. They’d know soon enough that something was going on when they called the house, or worse, called her at work to find out that she’d taken leave. No, she didn’t have a choice. She had to tell them now.

  Katherine walked up the long sidewalk to the front porch. She could hear her mom and Jacqueline playing with Chloe just on the other side of the door. At least Jacqueline had gotten Chloe out of her failed marriage. That little girl was the most special gift, even if she was the spitting image of her sister.

  At least Jacqueline should be sympathetic. Her husband hadn’t been a cheat, but he’d squandered away all of their money and left them in one heckuva financial bind. They’d almost lost their house at one point.

  When Jacqueline finally decided to leave, she’d been so depressed that she and baby Chloe had moved in with her and Ron. Through Jacqueline’s months of depression and anger, Katherine had never judged one decision she had made; Katherine just helped her move forward. Ron had even come up to Charlotte every other weekend to do the honey-dos and get her house ready to sell. It would be good to have Jacqueline be there for her now.

  She lifted her hand and knocked on the door.

  Her mother threw the door open with Chloe at her side. “You’re here. Honey. Let me look at you.” Mom’s face dropped as she gave her the once-over. “Yo
u look beat.”

  “I am. Kind of.” Katherine pushed past Mom, handing her the bag, then stooped and pulled little Chloe into her arms.

  “How is my sweet angel girl?”

  “That’s me,” Chloe said. She wrinkled her nose and put her arms around Katherine’s neck. “I love you, Aunt KK.”

  “I love you more,” Katherine said.

  Jacqueline walked over and waited for her turn for the obligatory hugs. “Hey, sis,” Jacqueline said, then scooted Chloe off to wash her hands. “Mom’s right. You do look worn out. You’re working too hard again.”

  Katherine dropped her purse on the hall table, and then plopped down on the couch in the living room. “Probably, but it’s what I do. Right?”

  “Yeah. You always have, but look what you have to show for it. That car is to die for.”

  “No it’s not. Trust me. It gets me to and from work just like the Ford did.”

  “Well, I’d die for it.”

  Dramatic. Jacqueline had always had a flair for it.

  “Come on, girls. I’ve got everything laid out.”

  They gathered around the kitchen table and Chloe said grace.

  “Where’s Dad?” Katherine asked.

  “He should be back soon. He’s over at Jacqueline’s mowing the lawn and doing a few things.”

  Of course he was. It seemed like he was always doing something for Jacqueline. She couldn’t remember the last time Mom and Dad had even made the trip down to Atlanta. “When will he be back?”

  Jacqueline said, “He met with the roofer to get an estimate on a new roof for my place. You know Daddy. He’s probably talking a mile a minute to that poor guy.”

  Of course he was. Probably going to pay for it too.

  “Ron and I are getting a divorce,” Katherine blurted out.

  “What?” Her mother glanced at Jacqueline, then Jacqueline picked up where Mom had left off.

  “He’s leaving you?”

  “No,” Katherine said emphatically. “I’m leaving him.”

  Jacqueline stabbed at a hunk of lettuce. “Now that’s just the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard you say. Why in the world would you leave Ron? He’s perfect.”