Life After Perfect

by Nancy Naigle

  “That’s a first.”

  Shaleigh continued. “He was only speechless for a moment. Then he went into grovel mode.”

  But what did that even mean from someone who would lie?

  “He says he wants you back home. Says it was a mistake.”

  “What is going on with him? He can’t keep pushing and pulling me like this. He should have kept our meeting if he was so hell-bent on seeing me.” Katy’s hand balled into a fist. “I’ll tell you what he thinks is a mistake—that he got caught. Well, too bad, because he did get caught.” He probably was starting to realize just what half of everything was and that it was going to make him half as happy.

  “Any amount of groveling going to change your mind? He says he’ll do anything.”

  Katy hated that question.

  “He should have thought about all of that before he went traipsing off with Miss Melissa.” She’d waited to have children. Given in to everything he’d ever wanted. Put her own desires on hold. She’d done it all willingly. All she’d expected in return was fidelity. Even that had been just too much to ask of him.

  “Why is he doing this?” Her voice rose, sounding unfamiliar to herself, and instead of feeling sick, anger grew inside her. “I don’t care what he says. What he did was wrong. Unfair. Cruel. The damage is irreparable.” She turned and saw Naomi watching from inside on the couch. She stepped out of view. She’d gotten loud. So mad she’d forgotten where she was for a moment there. “Sorry? He probably doesn’t even know how to spell the word.”

  “Don’t kill the messenger,” Shaleigh said.

  “I know, but don’t they always say that?”

  Shaleigh’s laugh broke up the tension Katy was feeling.

  Katy looked toward the sky. Her mood was as gray as the clouds that continued to threaten the area. “Is that all for now? Until Monday?”

  “Yes. It is. Sorry to ruin your day.”

  Shaleigh hung up and Katy put her phone in her lap, and just as she did, it rang back.

  “Yes?” she answered, expecting that Shaleigh had forgotten something.

  “Katherine. It’s your mother. I’ve tried to stay out of this, but I’m your mother and this is crazy. I was just talking to Ron. What is going on with you?”

  “Me?”

  “I thought you were going to go back and work things out with him. You’ve been gone a week?”

  “I never said I was going back.”

  “I told you—”

  “And I appreciate your advice, but that was not the direction I chose to take.”

  “You are better with him than without him,” her mother said.

  The words played in her mind—actually an interesting thing to ponder. “The truth is, Mom, he is better with me at his side. I’m just fine alone.”

  “Oh, Katherine, don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Ridiculous? Mom, I make more money than he does. I was faithful. I’m a smart woman and I don’t know why any smart woman would stay with a man who thought so little of her that he’d run around with another woman. And by the way. That woman. The one he was seeing. She has a name. Melissa. He admitted to it. And I saw her at my house when I tried to give him a chance to discuss things. Would you like the video? I can send it to you.”

  “Honey.” Her mother’s voice actually sounded sorry.

  “Mom, I know you’re trying to help, and I’m sure Ron is trying to build up his side of the story in a way that makes me look like the bad guy. But, Mom, you raised me better than that. Why can’t you just support me on this? You support Jacquie on everything. Every stupid screw-up and half-baked idea.”

  “I’m sorry, Katy-bug. I’m truly sorry.” Her mom let out a long sigh.

  Mom hadn’t called her that in forever. Not since Katy had come home from college with Ron’s big theory on successful names and demanded everyone call her Katherine.

  “You know, you’ve always been the one who could get things done. Always excelled. Made good decisions. Your daddy and I, we’re so proud of you. You’ve never needed us for a thing.”

  “I just need you to believe in me, Mom.”

  “And I screwed that up. I’m sorry. You’re always so perfect that I guess I just think you always will be.”

  And getting a divorce makes me somehow imperfect? Was this little chat supposed to make me feel better?

  “You didn’t screw it up. I know your intentions are good, but you have to believe that a good marriage is not about money, or things. It’s about sharing the good times and the tough times, being honest, faithful, and exploring life together. I should have seen the red flags, Mom. You’re right. I worked a lot, but it was what we did. I thought he and I were a team and we were achieving goals together.”

  “You will land on your feet. You always do.”

  She hung up the phone feeling her mother’s love. When she went back inside, Derek was talking to Todd and Naomi on the couch.

  “Am I interrupting?” Katy asked. “I can just go to my room.”

  “No,” Naomi said patting the seat cushion next to her. “Come here. We were just talking about doctors and stress and stuff. Hmmm . . . come to think of it, maybe you should run! It doesn’t sound like too happy of a topic, does it?”

  “I was telling them about the retreat idea,” Derek said.

  Todd looked worn out. “I don’t know how you can be around this kind of stuff and stay sane.”

  “Well, that was kind of my point. To help the doctors who help the patients. Help them balance their lives. Make it easier for them to take the time off that they so desperately need. You’d be surprised at the number of hours doctors put in, and how little time off they take. It’s hard to balance it all.”

  Naomi rocked forward. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. You know it’s not so different from what my Marshall did here in our home over the years. With singers, band members—they needed that break to reenergize, get their heads on straight. It sounds so simple, but it really is a big deal. That’s why we ended up with a house with eighteen guest rooms.”

  “You can hire me to manage it,” Katy said.

  Naomi looked surprised. “Well, you know, I don’t think I ever even asked what it is you do for a living. You said you were on vacation, but I never even wondered from what.”

  That was what Katy had kind of liked about this place. That she didn’t have to meet any expectations or answer questions.

  “I manage multimillion-dollar projects for one of the biggest banks in the nation.”

  Naomi’s brow lifted. “Impressive.”

  “I’m very good at it, too.”

  Todd chimed in. “Oh, a great project manager is a real gift. Hard to find, and hard to hang on to because those headhunters are always trying to steal the good ones.”

  Katy nodded. “I’m on leave. I’m thinking about picking up a little temporary work while I’m here though. I’m in a pretty good position to do just about anything except physical labor or mechanical work, but you know what I mean. I’m flexible. So, y’all let me know if you know anyone who needs some help.”

  Naomi rummaged through a newspaper sitting on the end table. “Actually, they are already looking for someone to fill the position overseeing all of the tourism stuff for Boot Creek—the Blackberry Festival and some watershed projects. Things like that. Look.” Naomi pointed to a big square ad in the lower left-hand corner. “This sounds exactly like you. I happen to have some connections in this town still.”

  Katy took the paper and read through the employment ad. She had every qualification they requested, and then some. It wouldn’t be a temporary job, but that suddenly held even more appeal. “I have to go out of town on Monday, but when I get back, I might just call these folks.”

  Derek reached for the paper. “I like the idea of you sticking around.”

  “Me, too,” N
aomi said. “You could even stay here for a while. Rent-free. I’m really enjoying your company.”

  Derek read silently then looked up. “This sounds like a good opportunity, Katy. The festival and tourism coordinator position takes experience, and it sounds like you have that.”

  “Okay. Yeah. Maybe that’s a good idea.”

  Todd got up. “I’m going to go slide into bed with my bride. It was good chatting with y’all. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

  “G’night, Todd,” Katy said, and Naomi echoed her.

  “I’ve got to run, too,” Derek said. “You two sit tight. I’ll let myself out.”

  Katy watched Derek leave. Naomi got up and brought back a pair of scissors from the front desk and set to cutting out the employment ad. Her hands were unsteady and Katy thought maybe she’d have done a better job just ripping it out.

  “Here you go. If you’d like a good word from me, it might help. I’d be happy to do it.”

  “Thank you, Naomi.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Monday morning Katy got in her car and headed back to Atlanta. She’d been a little anxious the whole ride, but it wasn’t until she drove past the Carpe Diem Bistro that her mood dipped.

  Shaleigh’s office was just a few more blocks up the street. She shouldn’t have been surprised by the plush, high-end look of the offices when she walked in, but it made the super-high hourly rate make even more sense. If location was everything, Shaleigh had picked the right spot. Even from where she was, standing at the receptionist’s desk, she had a clear view of some of the nicest parts of the city.

  “I have a two-thirty with Shaleigh. Katy.” She stopped herself short. “Katherine Barclift.”

  The receptionist wore a designer suit that probably cost an easy five hundred bucks, and Katy had treated herself to the same necklace earlier this year. She wondered if it was a coincidence that the receptionist’s outfit coordinated perfectly with the fine leather chairs and metal sculptures in the room.

  The woman announced her arrival.

  A moment later the door to the waiting area opened and in walked Ron and his attorney.

  Katy turned back to the receptionist wishing she’d been just a couple minutes earlier and could have missed this awkward moment.

  “Katherine. You look beautiful,” Ron said.

  “Thank you.” She’d actually stopped at the outlet and picked up a new little black dress and heels. A much sexier one than she’d been wearing, with the thought that it wouldn’t hurt to just make him wish she was still his. Childish, she knew. But the look in his eyes right now told her all she needed to know. It had been worth it.

  Shaleigh poked her head out into the waiting area. “Hi, Katherine. Will you come with me?” She glanced over at Ron and his attorney. “We’ll be with you in just a few minutes.”

  Katy walked past them and she could feel Ron’s eyes on her all the way to the door. She slipped behind the door and Shaleigh wrapped her into a big hug. “You look dynamite, girl! I think this separation becomes you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You doing okay?”

  “I am.”

  Shaleigh shuttled her down the hall to a large fish bowl of a conference room. “You and I will sit here. They can face the sun . . . I mean the view, of course.”

  “Tricky.”

  “Yeah. Whatever. Sometimes you have to take pleasure in the tiniest things. He’s asking for counseling.”

  “Good. He should get some. Cheater.”

  “No, couples counseling,” Shaleigh explained. “He wants you to move back into the family home and maintain your half of the bills, as you’ve established over your ten years of marriage. He wants the two of you to go to couples counseling, and he wants you to pay to have the young lady’s car repainted.”

  Katy’s eyes felt like the ones on springs that boogeyed out of a cartoon character’s head. “You cannot be serious. It was lipstick. Tell the tramp to go to the Wishy Washy. I am not paying to have her little car repainted.”

  “Well, you might end up having to do that, just because it’s on video and there’s no question you did it. We’ll ask our own body shop to do an estimate.”

  “I’m not doing it as part of my separation, and what the hell kind of separation order is that? It sounds like a together order.”

  “Umm-hmmm. What are you thinking?”

  Katy’s tongue felt so thick that she could barely spit the words out. “That the guy has lost his ever-loving mind.”

  “You’re not going back?”

  “No. I absolutely am not,” Katy said.

  “No counseling? What if he gets counseling?”

  “No.” Katy couldn’t even believe Shaleigh was asking this. Hadn’t they had this conversation? Is she second-guessing my decision? But she knew what she was doing was right. This was the right path for this point in her life. She was taking her life back. “Whose side are you on?”

  “Hey. I’m on your side. I’m just asking you these questions so you and I are on the same page before we all get in the room together.”

  “Fine.”

  “Here’s what I’ve drawn up. It’s a split right down the middle of all of your funds. You keep your own 401(k) and IRA, he keeps his. You each keep your cars.”

  “I sold mine.”

  “The Mercedes?”

  She nodded. “Traded it in for a Chevy Malibu.”

  Shaleigh started laughing. “He doesn’t need to know, but you know it will frost his balls. Can I mention it? Please let me roll it out there.”

  “Sure. Have a ball. I’ll be sitting here watching him die a thousand deaths over that. Might be the best part of it all.” Was there any chance she could videotape that?

  “This’ll be great.” Shaleigh focused back on the papers she’d drawn up. “I have him getting the house and he pays you half of the equity that’s in it. No alimony.”

  “Sounds fine to me.”

  “Okay, well, let me get our boys.”

  Katy’s hands shook under the table as she sat there waiting for Ron and his lawyer to come to the conference room with Shaleigh. Katy fought the nervous twitch in her eye, hoping it wasn’t a sign she was going to cry, because she was done crying over Ron or the past.

  She was even done being bitter. It was what it was, and some of those years had been awesome. She was no worse off because of those years; now, she’d take her experience and live a new life. One where she chose the priorities and the pace, and if she didn’t find a new partner in life, maybe she’d just adopt a child and raise the child on her own. Women did it all the time.

  Ron and his lawyer sat down.

  “We can work this out, honey,” Ron said.

  She didn’t respond, just turned her attention to Shaleigh. She let Ron’s attorney speak first. He didn’t say anything new, just pretty much what Shaleigh had outlined to her earlier. Then Shaleigh kicked into high gear and Katy saw firsthand why her friend was the best divorce lawyer in the business. She was amazing to watch. In thirty minutes, she had rolled out the pictures of Melissa and Ron, the video of the girl leaving their home, and gotten in the little mention of her Chevy Malibu, after which Ron spoke up and asked about the Mercedes.

  It took everything Katy had not to laugh.

  “You can’t just get rid of that car. How much did you get for it?”

  Shaleigh handled it all like the pro she was, and Ron stammered like a skipping record.

  By the end of the meeting, Katy had a signed separation agreement, leaving the divorce papers as the next and last step.

  She left Shaleigh’s office feeling on top of the world. She called Peggy as she pulled out of the lot.

  “Hey, Peggy,” she said.

  “Katherine. How are you?”

  “Great. Just got my signed separation agreement and divorce
is the next step. I thought I’d stop by before I headed back out of town. You free?”

  “I’d love to see you. Come on over.”

  There were no cars in the driveway at her old house when she drove up to Peggy’s. She felt like celebrating and she had a feeling Ron wasn’t feeling quite as much the winner right now. Served him right.

  She gave a double-knock on the door and Peggy answered.

  “You look great!” Peggy stepped back. “Come in. Let me look at you.”

  “How have you been?”

  “Good. That little town looks like it’s treating you right.”

  “It’s great. You should come visit me in Boot Creek. It’s a charming little place. I even danced in the streets at a blackberry festival with a very good-looking doctor one night. Can you picture me dancing in the streets? We’re talking conga line.”

  “No. I absolutely cannot imagine that. Hysterical.” Peggy laughed. “I’m happy for you, girl. No surprise you’d find someone else so fast.”

  “It’s not like that, Peggy. I’m not trying to replace Ron. I’m just trying to figure out who I really am without him. You should come visit. It would do you good.”

  “Oh, you know me. I’m a city girl, through and through. I like it right here close to the action, but enough about me. Is the separation official?”

  “Yes. I can hardly believe it.” Katy clapped her hands. “How’s yours going?”

  “Well,” Peggy paused. “Tucker moved back in.”

  Katy’s jaw almost dropped. “What?”

  “I’m going to give him another chance.”

  “Oh.” Lordy. What do you say to that? It was the last thing she expected to hear. What happened to making him pay for it the rest of his life?

  “We’re going to go to some counseling. He’s working on himself. He’s so outgoing, it’s hard to realize that his confidence was suffering, but he promises it will never happen again.”

  Katy reached out and held Peggy’s hand. “Is that what you want?”