by Mia Ford
“I am mad, but I’m not mad at you,” I said quickly. “And you called the cops, right?”
June nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “But they didn’t care. They said it was my fault, because I’d asked him out once before.”
Rage and anger flowed through my body and I balled my hands into fists, shoving them under my lap so June wouldn’t see.
“I’m so sorry, that’s awful,” I said. “First thing in the morning, I’m going to call Sandy – he’s my lawyer, he’s great. We’ll get you out of this.”
June collapsed into sobs and I held her close.
“That’s not all,” June whimpered.
“What happened?”
“They called me into the principal’s office this morning,” June sniffled. “They told me they fired Andy, but they’re putting me on leave without pay.” She glanced at me, looking completely helpless and childlike. I rocked her in my arms as she cried.
“That’s bullshit,” I said angrily. “We’re going to have Sandy talk to them, okay? I’ll get you out of this.”
I had the feeling that June would resist but instead she just nodded and sniffled.
“Thank you, Thomas,” June said softly. She extricated herself from my arms and stood up. “I’m going to get a glass of water,” she said. “Do you want one?”
I shook my head.
When June came back, I handed her three hundred dollars. “This isn’t much,” I said quickly. “I’ll get you more tomorrow. But for now, you should have this.”
June’s lower lip quivered and trembled. “Thomas, I can’t take money from you,” she said softly. “I can’t do that. That’s not fair.”
“It is fair,” I said. “You lost your job, okay? I’m going to help you until you get back on your feet.”
June still looked lost.
“Look,” I said quickly. “You don’t have to spend it, just keep it in case something comes up, okay?”
June nodded slowly. “I’ll pay you back,” she said. A tear rolled down her cheek and her chin wobbled.
“We can talk about that later,” I said, somehow knowing that she’d resist any other response.
June sighed. She sagged against me. “I don’t know what to do,” she said quietly.
I squeezed her tightly. “We’ll figure it out,” I said.
“I know you had to meet with Marlene, I’m sorry – you should go,” June said. She sniffled again. “Just call me later, okay?”
I felt so torn and helpless seeing June cry. Never – and I mean never – had a woman’s sobs touched my heart in the same way that June’s did. But I didn’t know what to do – and she was right, I did have to leave.
I stood up, feeling like a worthless piece of shit. “Okay.” I leaned down and kissed June on the forehead. “I’ll call you tonight and see how you’re doing, okay?”
June nodded. “Okay,” she said quietly. “Thank you, Thomas.”
“Anything for you,” I said. I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “And I mean that,” I said firmly. “Anything you need – anything you want, just let me know and it’s yours.”
June gave me a small, sad smile. “Okay,” she said softly. “Thank you.”
I tucked June in with an old afghan and left her on the couch as I ran down the stairs. When I got out to the street, I groaned. My Porsche was barely recognizable. The windshield was shattered and the tires had been slashed. The hood was covered in spray paint.
“Fuck!” I yelled, kicking at a trash can with my foot. A rat, larger than a small dog, skittered out and ran down the street. “And fuck you,” I added, glaring down at the rodent.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. “I knew Crown Heights was bad, but fuck, I didn’t think it was this bad!”
The sidewalks were littered with people. In desperation, I grabbed a woman’s arm and pulled her close.
“Did you see who did this?” I gestured frantically towards my wrecked Porsche. “Did you see anything?” I pulled out my wallet, momentarily forgetting that I’d given all of my spare cash to June. “I can pay you,” I added quickly.
The woman glared at me and yanked her arm back. “Crazy man,” she muttered under her breath. “You stay the fuck away from me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Stupid bitch,” I said quietly. The other people on the street eyed me with disdain, taking care to step around the obviously-wealthy businessman who had no business in their ‘hood. I groaned, thinking of how much worse my car would be after I left it for a few hours and waited for a tow. As much as I wanted to believe that Hannah had done this, I knew that she was only one of a list of suspects. The rest of the cars on the street were shitty Oldsmobiles and Saturns, all ten years out of date. Someone had probably just seen my Porsche and decided that because they couldn’t have nice things, neither could I.
Just as I was about to call for a car service, a long Lincoln Town Car slowed to a stop. I frowned as the tinted window in the rear rolled down.
“Hey, Thomas!”
I looked up and frowned. Marlene was in the backseat of the car, waving to me.
“What are you doing here?” I stepped closer to the car and crossed my arms over my chest. The early November night was a chill one, and I was only wearing a light jacket.
“I had a meeting in Brooklyn,” Marlene explained. “I was just driving by and I thought I saw your Porsche.” She wrinkled her nose. “God, what happened? It looks awful.”
I shrugged. “Vandalism,” I said. “I was just about to call for a car.”
Marlene jerked her head towards the interior of the back seat. “Get in,” she said. “We were supposed to talk anyway.”
I glanced back at my wrecked Porsche, feeling helpless and somehow tricked. Still, I knew that I didn’t have a better option. It would take forever for a good car to make it into this part of Brooklyn, and I sure as fuck wasn’t going to hang out on these thug-filled streets.
“Fine,” I snapped. Marlene grinned.
I walked around to the other side of the car and slid in, relaxing against the plush leather. Marlene smiled at me.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
Marlene tossed her red hair and the spicy scent of vanilla filled my nose. I shivered – when we’d been married, I’d like the smell of my wife’s perfume. But now I loved June’s all natural musk. I loved that she only wore deodorant, and not perfume. She always smelled so young and clean.
And the scent of her pussy was as juicy as a fresh peach.
“How have you been?” Marlene asked. She pulled out a compact and dabbed powder on her already-perfect makeup.
“Eh.” I shrugged. “Good and bad.” I narrowed my eyes. “Remember Keith Carner?”
Marlene narrowed her eyes. “Yeah. He was a dog,” she said. “He tried coming onto me once at a bar.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed dryly. “Well, maybe it’s good he’s blowing me off, then. Maybe he just learned about the divorce.”
Marlene looked wounded. “Why would you say that?” She scooted closer. “Thomas, just because we’re not together doesn’t mean that we aren’t in each other’s lives.”
“That’s right,” I countered. The car slipped through the dark Brooklyn streets and suddenly I regretted leaving my very expensive car behind. “Because we have Brett,” I said firmly. “And if you’re trying to win him over by sending that PlayStation Five, it didn’t work. The thing is boxed up in my office.”
Marlene narrowed her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
My heart sank. Even though I still wasn’t sure who had sent my son that expensive toy, it didn’t help to discover that it hadn’t been my ex-wife, after all.
“I was hoping you’d sent it,” I said morosely. “Brett got a box in the mail the other day, with some new video game system that’s only been released in Japan. There was no return address, and when I told him that he couldn’t have it, he got pretty mad.”
“I was wondering why he was in such a shitty mood last
weekend,” Marlene said. She rolled her eyes. “I chalked it up to normal ten-year-old boy drama, but holy shit.”
I sighed. “No, definitely not normal ten-year-old boy drama,” I said. “I couldn’t find a return address so I’m keeping it until I can have it checked out.”
Marlene narrowed her eyes. “What, you think someone is trying to hurt Brett to get to you?”
I shrugged. After a moment’s debate, I told her about Hannah, leaving out the grittier details. By the time I was finished recanting the whole sordid saga, Marlene looked shocked and pissed.
“That little bitch,” she said. “I can’t believe I trusted her around my son!”
“I know.” I shook my head. “So, I’m not ruling out the possibility that she’s somehow trying to get revenge. She did come from money, it’s possible she could’ve bought that stupid PlayStation on her own.”
Marlene shrugged. She gave me a devious look. “I bet you’re not doing so well without an assistant,” she said smugly.
“Hey,” I said, pretending to be offended. Marlene burst out laughing and after a second, I joined in. It was odd – I wasn’t having a bad time with her. Now that the poison and vitriol of the divorce had passed, it felt strange to be having an okay time with the woman who had ripped my heart out.
I just hoped we could keep it up, for the sake of parenting Brett.
Marlene sighed. “I wish things could be like this all of the time,” she said, scooting closer to me on the seat.
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?
Marlene pouted. “Between us,” she said. “I wish things could be good like this all the time, you know?”
“Marlene, we’re divorced,” I said flatly. “And honestly, I think that’s for the best. Hell,” I added, turning in the seat and crossing my arms over my chest. “You were the one who couldn’t stop talking about how much you loved your freedom.”
Marlene swallowed. She stroked a finger down the side of my arm. I waited two seconds before pushing her away.
“I was hasty when I said that,” Marlene said. She batted her eyelashes and lowered her voice to a honey-sweet pitch. “I miss you, Thomas. I miss being your wife.”
I exhaled as stiffly as I could. “Well, it’s never going to happen again. We split up for a reason. You cheated on me, for over fifteen years! That was our whole fucking marriage!”
“I made a mistake,” Marlene said. She sniffed and my irritation came roaring back, full blast.
“A mistake is forgetting to pick up the dry-cleaning,” I snapped. “Fucking other men for fifteen years wasn’t a mistake, Marlene. That was a very calculated, intentional decision on your behalf.”
Marlene narrowed her eyes. “Well, I regret that,” she said softly. “Besides, shouldn’t Brett have both of his parents?” She scooted closer and I pushed her away. “I miss being a family with you, Thomas. We should get back together.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re seriously crazy,” I told her, shaking my head and rolling my eyes. “I can’t believe you think we should be together just because you miss me!” I groaned. “And this is probably all because you’re sick of working and you want to live on my dime again!”
“I miss you,” Marlene said. Her voice was insistent, full of passion that I’d somehow never heard from her during the entirety of our marriage.
“I’ve moved on,” I said flatly. I rapped on the back of the driver’s seat. “Stop here,” I called loudly. “I’m getting out and taking the subway.”
Marlene looked at me with hatred in her vivid green eyes. “You can’t have moved on,” she said, twisting her lips into a scowl. “That’s not possible!”
“Well, it happened,” I said. “And I’m falling in love. Marlene, you and I will never be together again. Do you understand?”
Marlene glared at me with such palpable hatred that I was expecting a slap to the face. Instead, she opened her coral lips and spit right on me.
I sighed and pushed open the car door.
“Fuck you,” Marlene yelled after me. “I can’t believe you could be so cruel!”
I stood there for a moment, wondering what I should do. In any other moment – on any other day – I’d turn right back around and tell her she deserved everything that she’d gotten. But I was tired. I was exhausted, from dealing with Hannah, and June, and now Marlene. I couldn’t waste my energy on my useless ex who didn’t deserve to even breathe the same air as June.
“Fine.” I slammed the car door and waved cheerily. “Have a nice life!” I called after the car.
Marlene didn’t respond, but I felt satisfied all the same.
Chapter Fourteen
June
I had to admit that when I told Thomas he should leave so he wouldn’t miss his meeting, I didn’t actually expect him to go. But once he was gone and the apartment was empty again, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. My eyes were burning and my sinuses were choked with snot and saliva, but it was like a compulsion. I couldn’t stop – the tears just kept falling, no matter what I did.
By the time Angela got home, I’d almost tired myself out. She took one look at me and did a double-take, dropping her bag and rushing to my side.
“June!” She sounded dismayed and unhappy. “Girl, what the hell happened?” Angela put her hand to my forehead. “It better not have been Thomas,” she said. “I’ll kill that rich bastard.”
I sighed. “No, it wasn’t Thomas.” I sniffled and reached for a soggy tissue as I recounted the events that had happened that day at school. Like Thomas, Angela was shocked and unhappy that I hadn’t told her about the Andy-in-the-alley incident.
“June, those cops had no right to act the way they did,” she said hotly. “That’s like, a total breach of conduct!”
I shrugged. “They had a point,” I said miserably. “I did ask him out, remember?”
“But you don’t deserve to be stalked and harassed!” Angela shot back. “And those creepy drawings?” She shuddered. “What kind of asshole calls you a pedophile just because you won’t go out with him?”
“I don’t know,” I said sadly. I wrapped my arms around my knees and brought them to my chin, resting my chin on top. “I just wish this was a bad dream,” I said. “And that I’m going to wake up any time.”
Angela sighed. “Have you told Thomas?”
“I called him earlier.” I pointed towards the wad of bills on the table. “He gave me this, for now. He said if there was anything I needed to just ask. But I can’t do that – we barely know each other. We’ve only slept together once. I can’t suddenly start acting like I can depend on him.”
Angela licked her lips. “I want to help, too,” she said slowly. “But we can’t lose this apartment, June. I don’t make enough to cover your rent, too.”
“I know.” My heart sank. “I’ll just use this money and then pay Thomas back.”
“And they have to rehire you soon,” Angela said. “Look, this is probably some stupid school policy where they can’t have either of you around while they check things out. Anyone with a brain could see that this isn’t your fault!”
“Everyone at school hates me now,” I said flatly. “Those stupid drawings must have really done the trick.”
Angela rolled her eyes. “I thought teachers were supposed to be smart,” she said, climbing off the couch and stretching. She walked into the kitchen and two seconds later, I heard the pop of a wine cork.