“No,” Tiffany said, hesitantly. “He isn’t available.”
“Did you tell him it was an emergency?” Aurora said.
“I told his assistant that and she said he is available around 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow!” Aurora said.
“I am sorry,” Tiffany said. “Lawyers are busy.”
“I know, but it is just that I have a meeting scheduled for that time with a photographer about a cover in our magazine.”
“I know, Ms. Tousey,” Tiffany said as she twirled a pencil between her fingers.
“So what did you tell the assistant?” Aurora asked as she whispered more softly while putting her head closer to Tiffany’s computer screen.
“Well,” Tiffany said, “I told her yes.”
“But I have that appointment.”
“I know, and I hope you won’t be upset, but I called the photographer and moved that appointment to 2:00 p.m. today,” Tiffany said. “Is that okay?”
“Normally I wouldn’t be happy if you changed my appointments without asking me,” Aurora said as she stood up straight. “But this is a time that I will allow it.” She smiled.
--
Aurora couldn’t eat until the next day. She was getting better at eating more, but when she was triggered by the thoughts of Gannon, she couldn’t eat. So she forced herself to get a smoothie from the café down below. She took the smoothie up to her office and kept staring at the chocolate peanut butter drink. She took sips every few minutes. You will not let Gannon be the reason you stop eating again; you will talk to the lawyer soon.
Aurora kept starting at the clock every few minutes to see if the time was closer to 1:00. When it was 1:00, she took turns staring at the clock and her phone, waiting for a phone call. She finally heard it ring, and her heart beat faster with each ring. She took a large breath and picked up.
“Hello?” Aurora said as if she were out of breath from running a marathon.
“Aurora, I have your lawyer on the other line,” Tiffany said.
“Please put him through to me.”
“Hello Ms… Aurora.” Though Aurora had never taken her husband's last name, the lawyer never used last names when addressing female divorce clients. He didn’t want to remind them of their husbands.
Aurora got straight to the point because she knew that lawyers charged by the hour. “If Gannon doesn't show up, will I still be able to get divorced?”
“It does not matter.”
“It does not matter?” Aurora took a big breath and exhaled.
“I can tell you are a bit stressed, but I promise it’s good news,” he said. “If he fails to appear at the final hearing, the court will proceed without him. They would proceed without his input towards the final order and he would be in default.”
Aurora seemed confused. “Okay, explain that in common English.” She thought, I guess that's why I am paying you to make my life easier.
“If he isn’t there, it doesn’t matter. You can still get divorced that day.”
“Okay, thank God.” Aurora sighed with relief. She felt as if a rock had been lifted off of her chest. “Last, I want to move somewhere by myself. I am living with my best friend now, as you know, but I want to get my own place. I don’t want to keep driving so much every day. It is wearing on me, you know?”
“Yeah, I understand, but I recommend that you don’t move because of all the court documents. But if you do move, still keep the address as the current address you have now.” Aurora had asked for his advice, but she knew she was going to start looking for a new place regardless. She was stubborn.
“Okay, that is all I wanted to know.” She wanted to keep the call short but sweet. She had to get those questions answered right away, or she would have kept thinking about them all day. She figured, the less she could worry about, the better.
“Okay, good….. Oh, wait! I have one more thing,” Aurora said. “I want to block my husband from calling and texting me. Can I do that if I want to?”
“Yes! Of course!”
“Sorry for all of the questions. This is my first divorce. But one more thing,” Aurora said. “We need to schedule an appointment to talk about this pre-nup situation.”
“Ah, yes,” he said. “Well, your assistant can set that up with mine.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“At our meeting we can discuss a possible loophole.”
“That’s great!” she said. “Can you tell me?”
“I am sorry, but I don’t have any more time. I have to got to go,” he said.
--
That same day, Aurora looked into getting a new place. She emailed Laura Hamilton, one of the realtors she knew, who put ads in Aurora’s magazine. She knew that Laura would get her something nice and affordable, fast. Though money wasn’t really a problem for Aurora, she just wanted a place she could pay for with cash. Aurora told Laura the kind of place she was looking for and that she would like the place as soon as possible.
--
The following morning, Aurora was sitting at the kitchen table at her and Tessa’s, editing some magazine articles, and drinking her morning cup of coffee. She stared out of the window in front of her. She thought about Melih and became frustrated; this pushed her for a needed distraction.
She called Jason.
“Good morning,” Aurora said. “How was your weekend?”
“It was good,” Jason said. “How did ice skating go?”
She was happy he remembered that she was going ice skating, which meant he was actually listening to her when she talked.
“It was good,” Aurora said as she took a sip of coffee. “Thank you.”
“That’s good,” Jason said. “Well, you missed a good show on last night.”
He must have invited some other girl.
“I wish I could have gone,” Aurora said. “I am sorry about that…. Anyway, did you find anyone to take with you?”
“Yes.” Of course you did.
“That is nice,” Aurora said.
Get ahold of yourself, Aurora. Even if he had invited some other woman, you are still married and crushing on Melih!
“Well, actually,” Jason said, “my sister was in town visiting her friends for the weekend, so I asked if she wanted to go. We had a nice time.”
“Aw! Are you and your sister close?” Aurora said. “I remember her being the head cheerleader in high school.”
Jason’s sister was Aurora’s cheerleading coach at a cheer camp her mom made her attend when she was in the third grade. Aurora would rather have been at home reading the newest book about Junie B. Jones.
“Yeah, we are close,” Jason said. “We used to fight all of the time when we were younger, but we have become very close since she went through a bad breakup a couple of years ago.”
“It is the same way with my younger brother and me.” Except my brother and I bond to get over the sad memories from our childhood.
“So,” Aurora said, “what would you like to do on our date this weekend?”
Aurora was thinking about how upset Melih had made her and was hurt thinking about Gannon. She wanted to distract herself.
“I didn’t know it was a date,” Jason said. “I thought we would just be hanging out.”
“Oh.”
“I was kidding,” Jason said. “Anyway, I was thinking we could have dinner at Crandall’s Peruvian Bistro. It is one of my favorite places to eat.”
“I love that place! It is my favorite, as well,” Aurora said. “That is the place I had cater food for the charity event.”
“Nice.”
“I used to treat myself to some ceviche and a glass of wine after any big test in college.”
“And I went to college with George Washington," Jason chuckled. "Wait, I thought you said you don’t drink?”
“Well, I drank then, but I don’t anymore,” Aurora said. “Anyway, you are not that old at all. You are vintage. Not old.”
“So,” Jason said, “am I yo
ur new accessory, then?”
“Something like that,” Aurora said. “Though I haven’t tried you on yet.”
“Oh, really?”
“Maybe eventually,” Aurora said. “I don’t know.”
“This is too much pressure!” Jason said. “I don’t think I can handle it.”
“I am sure you can handle it,” Aurora said. “You are a lawyer. Well, I was just calling to say hi. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.”
“You too.”
--
Aurora went to bed that night smiling. Jason was just the distraction she needed. He was flirtatious, successful, and easy on the eyes. She was not sure if anything would come of them, but she was just trying to enjoy her life at that point and was thinking she might play the field a little bit because she hadn’t been single for long and she wanted to enjoy it for a while. Tessa is right. I need to believe in myself again. No dating. Aurora was worried that if things got too serious with Jason, she would have to tell him that she was still married. At least Melih knows I am married. Melih and Jason were too tempting to her, but she was worried they would get bored with her.
Why is it that these men find me attractive and amazing, but I still don’t feel that way? In her mind she kept hearing Gannon say, “You made me do it. You made me beat you. You deserved it. No one would ever put up with you like I put up with you.”
I know I shouldn’t be dating, but I don’t want to be alone. They make me feel like I am wanted. I am too depressed right now to be alone. I need a distraction. They are like a drug that is giving me life right now. She thought that maybe attention from a guy would help her gain that confidence, or maybe Jason would only be a rebound. Melih could never be a rebound, right?
What scared her most was that she thought if she ended up being with Jason, she would lose her chance at being with Melih, forever.
Chapter 15
It was a Thursday afternoon and Aurora was sitting in the waiting room of her lawyer’s office. She chose to sit in a dark red suede chair, which was in the corner of the waiting room, next to the bookshelf. She crossed her legs as one of her black leather boots hit the hardwood floor. She stared aimlessly at the books on the shelf next to her. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen caught her eye. She took the book off the shelf and opened up to a page, which read, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a good wife.”
“Ha!” Aurora said out loud and some of the other people waiting in the waiting room looked at her. She then looked down. How can a book that was written over two hundred years ago have a quote that rings so close to Gannon’s need for a wife? Why didn’t I see it then?
“Ms. Tousey, would you like anything?” The secretary said. “Coffee, tea, or sparkling water?”
“Ahh,” Aurora said as she looked up quickly from the book. “Sparkling water, please.”
The receptionist brought Aurora the drink and Aurora swallowed the carbonated water as air bubbles came out of her nose. I don’t know why I find that feeling of carbonated water burning my nose so satisfying. She hiccupped some of the air bubbles and put her hand over her mouth.
Erik Wulfblitzen, Aurora’s lawyer, opened his office door and cleared his throat as he nodded at his receptionist.
“Mr. Wulfblitzen will see you now.”
Aurora got up and put the book back on the shelf. I think I am going to read this at home later.
“So, Erik… Any good news?” Aurora said as she walked into her lawyer’s officer.
“Yes.” He signaled toward one of the chairs that sat next to the table in his office. “Take a seat,” he said.
Aurora sat down.
“So?” she said as Erik put the pre-nup in front of her like he was dropping a large cement block on the table. “Yikes.” Aurora opened her black leather purse and pulled out her glasses, and she then started to glance over the prenuptial agreement by flipping through the pages.
“Yup,” Erik said. “So, though it seems like Gannon’s mom was a bit conniving, I found an infidelity clause.”
“A what?”
“Well, I know that it is not usually enforced, but adultery is illegal in Wisconsin,” Erik said. “It is actually a criminal offense. However, we only need to prove his infidelity for the clause to work.”
“So?” Aurora said. “Are we going try to get him in prison?”
“Well,” Erik said, “we have to prove that he committed infidelity, and then the pre-nup will be invalid, but you don’t have to press charges.”
“Well,” Aurora said, “how do we prove that?”
“Well, do you have any proof of him admitting to cheating?”
“Well,” Aurora thought for a moment and looked up at the ceiling. “Do text messages count? Maybe I have old voice messages, as well.”
“That is perfect,” Erik said. “Well, on the court date, when your husb…. Gannon’s lawyer–” Aurora glared at him with a side eye. He continued, “When his lawyer brings up the pre-nup, I will point out the infidelity clause and that it is illegal in the state of Wisconsin to have an adulterous relationship while you are married. Then you can show proof by playing the voicemails or showing any messages between you two.”
“So, on what page is this clause?”
“Go to page 39,” Erik said as Aurora rushed through the pages. “You will see it toward the middle of the page.”
“What am I looking at?”
“It says if it is proven that the male is proven adulterous, then the dowry clause will be null-in-void.”
Is my dating adulterous? Her face became paler than the snow outside. “I have...” She said as her voice squeaked. “I have to tell you something. I have been dating someone.”
“So?” Erik said.
“It’s not adultery?”
“No!” Her lawyer said. “You have to have intercourse. Even if you were adulterous,” Erik continued. “Read farther and it says that if the woman becomes pregnant, it must be proven that it is the child of the husband.”
“This is all good to hear, but how do I know Gannon and Shazzy had intercourse?” Aurora said.
“You can ask one of them.”
“Well,” Aurora said, “I don’t really want to message either one of them.”
“Message him and ask,” he insisted.
Aurora pulled out her phone and began to type and said, “No. I can’t.”
“Well, you either do that or you pay him a huge dowry,” Erik said. “Whatever you prefer.”
“Fine!”
“Make it sound convincing, like you want to get back together or something.”
“Really?” Aurora said.
“It should not be hard. You are a writer, are you not?” Erik said. Aurora rolled her eyes.
Aurora: Gannon… Can I ask you a question?
“See!” Aurora said. “It is worthless. He will never reply,” she said as he heard a beep come from her cell phone. She stared at it in amazement.
Gannon: Of course! I thought you would never message me again.
Aurora: If I were to get back together with you, I would need you to answer a question for me.
Gannon: I will tell you anything.
Aurora: Did you cheat on me? Like, did you ever have sex with anyone?
Gannon: Aurora…
Aurora: You said anything.
Gannon: Are you actually thinking about getting back together with me?
Aurora: Yes, I am thinking about it but need to know the truth. Did you have sex with Shazzy?
Gannon: No.
Aurora: You never had sex with anyone besides me our whole marriage?
Gannon: Well.
Gannon: I had sex with someone else during our marriage.
Aurora: Really? Who?
Gannon: Some chick from work.
“That makes me feel even worse!” Aurora blurted out. “He had sex with someone else!”
“He what?” Erik said in shock by how fast Ga
nnon told her. “Let me see,” he said, as Aurora practically threw the phone at the lawyer. Aurora started to cry and sank back in her chair. She crossed her arms.
“What’s wrong?”
“Really?” Aurora said. “For a lawyer, you really are stupid.”
“Hey,” Erik said. “I am sorry. I am just shocked he answered so fast.” They both heard Aurora’s phone ding again.
Gannon: So, will we be getting back together now?
“Are you going to reply?” Erik said.
“Obviously not,” Aurora said. “I think that I have had enough for the day. I also think you have all of the evidence you need.”
“Okay, I just needed proof for the…” he said, as Aurora stood up and left.
She opened the door and began to walk out of the office. She then remembered the Jane Austen book on the bookshelf. She went to the shelf and took the book.
“I am taking this!” Aurora said to the receptionist.
“But that’s not yours.”
“Well, I basically just helped him fight my pre-nup,” Aurora said. “So, think of it as a payment for a job he owes me for.”
Aurora flashed the receptionist a fake smile and left.
All I need is Jane and me, here, she said as she hugged the book. Then she put the sleeve of her jacket to her face and dried the tear on her cheek.
Chapter 16
The little black dress hung on a wooden hanger on the back of the door in Aurora’s office. She stared at it all day anticipating how her date would go that Friday night. Since she wouldn’t have time to go home after work, she brought the clothes she planned to wear on her date with Jason. Aurora was certain she would not wear heels like the last date. After all, to her it wasn’t “a date.”
When it was time to get ready, Aurora put on the little black dress. She had recently bought it while shopping with Tessa. She wore her black leggings with black leather boots that went to her knees. She also put on her black petticoat that had a hole in the left pocket. She knew it should be fixed because she kept losing things in it. She didn’t want to fix it because her grandmother had given it to her. It was sentimental to her.
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