Steven ate his shrimp but he had no stomach for it. He forced himself to put the plump shrimp in his mouth. He chewed slowly. Janet ordered another daiquiri. The day seemed endless.
As Janet chattered, Steven allowed his mind to wander. He remembered when he first realized, really realized, that Janet had a mental problem. They had been at a party at his boss’s house on one of the islands off the coast of South Carolina. There were so many islands in the area, he couldn’t remember which one now. Edisto? Maybe. It was a big Fourth of July party and there must have been a hundred people there.
Steven was keeping his eye on Janet because he already knew she could be impulsive. He was also trying to talk to people at the party because it was expected of him. And that’s exactly what he was doing when it happened. He was talking to the daughter of somebody there, some big donor to the college where he worked at the time. He knew it wasn’t a good thing he was talking to her because she was very attractive, but the other people that had been there when the conversation started, had wandered off. Steven was about to find a way to extricate himself from the young woman when Janet walked up. She was a little drunk, which was embarrassing.
He introduced her to the woman whose name he can’t remember now, and Janet said, “I think you’ve talked to my husband long enough. You can’t have him.” And then she threw her drink on the girl. Because she really was just a girl, in her early twenties he guessed. He grabbed Janet then and escorted her out of the party. It wasn’t the first time that Janet had said or done something inappropriate, but it was the most serious time. He could lose his job over it, and likely would.
He put Janet to bed and the next day he called her parents. He had had about enough of Janet’s behavior. Somehow, he needed to know what was behind it. He was already thinking about leaving her. Mr. Welker reluctantly explained to Steven that Janet had been diagnosed with a personality disorder when she was a teenager. She had spent some time in a hospital, but there really was no cure. It could be lessened, he said, with medications, but not cured. Steven never forgot his using the word “lessened.”
That’s when Steven realized he was in for more than he had bargained for. He didn’t want a mentally ill wife that could embarrass him at any moment. She was like a powder keg, ready to go off at the slightest provocation. At that point, Steven and Janet had been married for two years.
Next, he called his dean at the college and explained that Janet had gotten drunk at the party—she hadn’t eaten a thing and it got to her, he had said—and had done something inappropriate. He wanted to apologize for that and promise it would never happen again. It was the most embarrassing moment in his career.
The dean had already heard about the incident. He was outraged. But in the end, he took sympathy on Steven. “If the donor doesn’t demand your removal, you won’t be removed,” he said. “But you need to contact his daughter and apologize to her personally. Janet needs to do that with you. It’s your only hope, son,” he said.
And Janet had turned on her sweet charms and called the woman and apologized profusely for her actions. “I got a little too drunk on tequila. I just can’t handle that stuff.” In the end, the woman didn’t make things difficult for Steven. She was gracious and accepted the apology. Steven knew he didn’t deserve to be so lucky.
He never took Janet to another college party again. He never told her about them. He did feel that he had to attend those functions, but he told Janet he had to work late on those nights. Of course that didn’t stop her from attending parties her parents threw, and she could be counted on to do something outrageous. He wondered why her parents kept inviting her. Janet was an embarrassment.
He let another year go by and then he’d had enough. He wanted out of the marriage. But Janet wouldn’t let him out. She got her father to hire the most powerful divorce lawyers in Charleston to fight him. He didn’t want anything. He just wanted out. Every time it seemed the divorce might happen, her lawyers would do something to stop it. They finally settled on Janet’s mental illness. She didn’t know what was happening, therefore she couldn’t legally sign divorce papers. She refused to leave the townhouse they lived in during that whole nasty process. Steven couldn’t afford to move out. It was very unpleasant.
Steven decided the only way out was to leave. Eventually, Janet and her lawyers would give up and let him out of the marriage. But he needed to leave. He was offered a job by the Virginia Coastal Institute, which he accepted. He couldn’t wait to get out of there, and he wouldn’t be telling Janet where he was going.
But she found out anyway. He stupidly left his email program open one night before going to bed. It was the opportunity Janet had been waiting for. She read all of the emails from the VCI. She called the VCI the next day and asked to speak to Mr. Rodriguez, who had signed the emails. She explained to him that Steven was a raging alcoholic who needed treatment and really couldn’t fulfill the duties of their job as oceanographer.
When the job offer was withdrawn, Steven called Mr. Rodriguez and asked him why. He told him. Steven tried to explain to him that his wife was mentally ill and that it wasn’t true that he was an alcoholic. It did no good. Steven was enraged.
He was smarter the next time he looked for a job. He bought a laptop and opened a new email account. He kept his laptop at work so that Janet wouldn’t know it existed. He lied to her when he went to Tampa to interview for the position with the Gulf Coast Ocean Institute. They offered him the job and he accepted through his brand new email address. He gave his notice at the college, but he didn’t tell Janet that. His dean seemed relieved he was leaving.
He didn’t tell Janet he was leaving. He wouldn’t take much with him so it would be easy to pack up. The Institute had a house on the beach for him to live in, fully furnished with everything. He waited for the right moment. He knew it would come. Janet wasn’t one to sit around the house all day doing her nails. She needed to get out and create trouble in the world.
Steven pretended to go to work every day. In reality, he was visiting museums and libraries in the Charleston area. Or he would go to movies. He would arrive back home at the end of the day, briefcase in hand like he’d been at the college, teaching students, doing paperwork. All that boring stuff college professors did. Janet never questioned him about his work. It was boring to her.
Finally, the day came when he could make his escape. Janet had a hair appointment. “I’ve got to get these split ends gone,” she said.
“I was thinking about lunch,” Steven said. “What time is your appointment?”
She frowned at him. “It’s at twelve thirty. It’s going to take a while. I guess we’ll have to do it another day,” she said. “Sorry.”
“Okay,” he said picking up his briefcase and walking out the door. “See you later.”
He went to the library that day to kill some time. At eleven thirty, he drove back to the townhouse, but he didn’t park in his usual spot. He parked in the next complex of townhouses, but he could still see her car if she pulled out. At noon, he saw Janet flounce out of the apartment wearing a sundress and high heels. He watched her car pull out of its spot and drive to the exit from the townhouse village. He watched the car as long as he could until he couldn’t see it anymore. He waited fifteen minutes in case she forgot something. If for some reason she came back when he was already in the apartment, he had decided he would say he came home sick. Then he would have to figure something else out.
After fifteen minutes, he walked into the townhouse. He looked around at the expensive furniture and artwork her parents had bought them. He had no feeling for it; he didn’t care about that stuff at all. He really didn’t have much there to call his own. It shouldn’t take long to get out.
He walked to the bedroom and took his clothes from the closet, hangers and all. He opened the door and looked both ways before he carried the clothes to his car and put them in the trunk. It took two loads to get them all in. He opened the dresser drawer and put all of his underwear
, socks, pants, and T-shirts into a large plastic bag from the kitchen. He threw his toothbrush and razor in on top of the clothes. Was it possible that he had so few belongings? Janet had made him get rid of just about everything he owned when they got married.
He looked in the top shelf of the closet and saw his box. It had all of his childhood mementos—special rocks, his Swiss Army knife, old school photos, old family photos. He reached up and pulled the box down. He tucked it under his arm and drug the plastic bag out to his car. He took one more walk through the townhouse to make sure he wasn’t leaving something important to him. He didn’t see a thing. Everything had Janet’s touch on it, or her parents. He was ready to go. He felt a sense of urgency as he closed the door and locked it for the last time. He kept looking over his shoulder, thinking Janet was going to drive up any second.
He sprinted to his car and once inside, locked the doors. He had a vision of Janet coming up screaming to his window, yanking his door open. He backed out of the parking space and drove to the exit road. He navigated through town toward the highway.
He was free.
“Steven,” Janet said shaking his arm. “Are you listening to me?” Janet brought him right out of the past and his sense of freedom into the present and his sense of imprisonment.
“I’m sorry, Janet. I was thinking about work.”
Janet pouted. “I was telling you about the country club,” she said.
Steven didn’t give a damn about the country club, but he feigned interest and glued his eyes to Janet’s. She rattled on and on and he smiled and nodded at all the right places. Then she dropped her bombshell.
“I want to move down here with you, Steven,” she said. “I think we can make it work here.”
What the hell was he supposed to say to that? Her parents would be there soon to take her away.
“I don’t think I’m going to be staying here,” he said. “I don’t really like this beach that much.”
“Why not? I love it.” Well, it’s all about you, Janet, he thought.
“I don’t know.”
“I need to get away from my parents and Charleston,” she said. “I think it’s just what we need to make our marriage work.”
He wanted to scream at her, “This marriage is NEVER going to work!” But he kept his face calm. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow,” he said, knowing that tomorrow would never come.
It was almost six and Steven was worried they wouldn’t get back before Janet’s parents arrived. He motioned for the bill and hustled Janet out of the booth.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” she asked as they walked back down the beach toward Steven’s house.
“I’m not in a hurry. What makes you say that?” Biding time.
When they got inside Janet changed out of Serena’s bathing suit in the bathroom and came out wearing a sundress. Despite the sunscreen, she had gotten too much sun and was pink on her face and arms.
“Let’s watch some more movies,” he said turning on the television.
“I thought you might want to do something else,” she said, moving over to sit beside him on the couch.
“I think I got too much sun,” he said. “I think you did, too. Let’s wind down with a movie.”
Time seemed to move in slow motion. When would they get there? They should be there by now. Finally, he heard a knock at the door. He got up to open it.
“Hope it’s not your girlfriend again,” Janet said.
He opened the door to Janet’s parents and a man that he didn’t know. He let them in. Janet was staring at them from the couch.
“What are you doing here?” Janet asked, alarmed.
“We’re here to take you home, Janet,” Mrs. Welker said. “It’s time to go home.”
“I’m not going home,” she said. “I’m going to live here with Steven from now on.”
“I’m sorry, Janet,” Mr. Welker said. “But that’s not going to happen. Steven wants a divorce from you and you need to go ahead and give it to him. We’re tired of fighting your battle for you.”
Janet turned to Steven. “Did you call them?” she asked hysterically.
“Yes,” he said.
“You mean you tricked me? You made me think you loved me and wanted me to stay here?”
“I didn’t trick you, Janet,” Steven said softly. Even though he knew that he really did trick her. That was the only way around Janet.
“Who’s that?” Janet asked, pointing at the man that had not been introduced yet.
“That’s Dr. Williams. He’s here to help you if you need help,” Mr. Welker said.
“I don’t need any help,” she said. “I’m staying here.”
Mr. Welker sat on the couch with Janet. He tried to take her hand but she snatched it away. “Honey, you’ve got two choices here today. Leave with us without a fight or fight us and we’ll have you committed. We’ve brought the papers with us.”
Janet stood up and looked around frantically. She looked at Steven, pleading.
“Steven, how can you let them do this to me?”
“Janet, you’re doing everything to yourself. I just want you to let me go.”
Janet lunged for the table beside the couch and picked up several magazines. She ripped them up and threw the shreds all over the floor. Dr. Williams stepped in then and tried to calm her down. She would have none of it. She beat at him with her fists.
Mr. Welker raised his voice. “Janet, get out to the car right now or we’ll have to call the police. You don’t have a choice.”
Janet fell to the floor and began to wail. She beat her fists on the floor and then on herself. Dr. Williams stepped in again. “Janet, I’ve got some medicine to help calm you down, okay?” he said.
After a few minutes of sobbing, she nodded her head. Janet was defeated, finally. Her parents would no longer support her in her mental illness. They would no longer help her fight the divorce.
Mrs. Welker went to the kitchen and found a glass and filled it with water. Steven stood numbly in the living room, not helping her, saying nothing. Dr. Williams gave a couple of capsules to Janet. Janet’s father walked over and gently lifted Janet from the floor.
“Find her purse and anything else she has here,” he said to Janet’s mother. She looked at Steven and he came out of his trance and found Janet’s purse. He went in the bedroom and found her overnight bag and brought it to Mrs. Welker, who had a wounded look in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said softly to her. “Really sorry.” She touched his arm but didn’t say anything. The four of them walked out the door, Janet huddled in her father’s arms. Steven watched them walk down the stairs. Mr. Welker put Janet in the back seat, and then got in beside her. Dr. Williams got in the driver’s seat. Mrs. Welker got into Janet’s car and Steven watched until both cars had driven away.
He sat down on the couch and wept.
Chapter Fourteen—Jeff
Jeff walked into the dark Rossetti’s for the second time that day. He went to the bar and made himself a stiff drink, which he took upstairs. He was all alone in the big house. He sat on the bed because there was nowhere else to sit in the entire upstairs. If Rosie were there, she’d jump up on the bed, too. He missed Rosie. He missed Nonna. And most of all, he missed Serena.
He lay back on his pillow and nursed his drink before placing it on the table. When his phone rang a few minutes later, he was about to fall asleep. He hoped it was Serena calling him, needing him, loving him, so he didn’t check who it was.
“Hey, Jeff,” Angela said.
Jeff was more than disappointed. “Hey, Angela. Did you make it through the storm okay?”
“Yeah. It was rainy but fine up here.”
The phone went silent. Jeff couldn’t think of anything to say.
“I’m calling because I want to let you know that I’m not coming back,” Angela said.
Jeff was relieved, though he felt bad about that. He liked Angela all right, but he didn’t love her. He would never love her.
“Why not?” he asked.
“Being out here on my friends’ farm has given me time to think. I realize it’s time for me to move on. I know we don’t have any kind of future together, and that’s okay. But I know you’re in love with Serena, and it’s time for me to go.”
Jeff didn’t deny his feelings for Serena.
“Your silence affirms what I already know,” she said. “Listen, I know this is terribly unprofessional of me, but would you let Sandy and everyone know that I won’t be back?”
“Sure,” Jeff said. Before she could hang up, Jeff said, “It’s been nice knowing you, Angela.”
“You too, Jeff,” she said. “Good luck.”
Jeff stared at the ceiling. He was going to have to paint it too, he realized. But that could wait.
He started thinking about Serena and the night he met her.
He and some coworkers had been working every night and weekend for weeks on an important brief, defending a corporation. When they finally filed it late one night, everyone wanted to celebrate. They had gone to Bridgewater’s for a feast. Jeff couldn’t even remember now what he ate that night, but he had asked to see the chef. He was basically showing his ass to his coworkers, trying to look sophisticated like he’d seen people do in movies. And then Serena had walked out.
She was wearing her chef coat and her wavy brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. But he could see her figure underneath the coat. Her skin was a glowing honey beige color and her facial features were finely chiseled. She must be Italian, he remembered thinking. She had seemed surprised to be called to a table for compliments, and Jeff showed his ass again by heaping praise on her. When the dinner was over, he decided he needed to see the chef again.
She came back out, looking just as pretty as before, and he asked her out. He didn’t expect her to say yes, but she did. They had gone to a club and had drinks. Serena took off her chef jacket and let her hair down, which flowed in waves across her shoulders. She was beautiful.
Serena's Choice - Coastal Romance Series Page 15