Part 2 (2/2)

What about him?

What about him? I dont think the man m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.es, unless he does it in the shower. And I doubt he is. He just has no desire.

I really wish hed go to the doctor, Marcia said.

So do I, but he got almost as angry at that suggestion as he did when I asked about counselling. If hes not willing to try, Im done with the one-sided war. The fact that he refuses to admit theres a problem, and is putting it all on me, that Im the one with the problem, only seals the deal. Its time for me to leave before Im so angry with him that I hate his guts.

Which is exactly what I was warning you about.

Once Mel got herself pulled together, Marcia led her back to the guest room that would be her temporary digs. Shed have to find out how much the divorce would set her back, get her paycheck set up for direct deposit into a different bank account So much to do.

We havent even talked about rent, Mel said. How much do you want me to pay?

Nothing. Chip in for groceries, if youd like. Help out with ch.o.r.es. Im guessing you wont be here more than a couple of months before you figure out your next move. I know you. You are a take-charge kind of person who doesnt like leaving things up in the air. And you like your freedom too much.

Yeah, that is true. Ive felt anything but free lately. Which is stupid.

Why do you say that?

Because here I thought by staying home with him, it might fix things. I thought that by limiting what I did, itd bring us closer. All it did was cut me off from people I never should have distanced myself from. He couldnt give a s.h.i.+t where I go or what I do. h.e.l.l, hed prefer it if I just went and did things and not ask him to go with me. I stopped being me somewhere along the way and tried to be half of a broken marriage.

That never works.

Boy, I learned that the hard way.

Mel still wasnt sure how to get out of going home tomorrow night. She might just have to suck it up and deal with it.

Maybe steal a page from Mikes playbook and fall asleep on the sofa, spend the night out there, and claim oopsies.

Her back probably wouldnt tolerate her doing that more than two nights in a row before it started protesting, though.

She grabbed a shower and changed into the black and purple dress shed brought with her to wear tonight. Shed originally bought it on a whim a couple of years earlier, thinking it was pretty and had a flirty kind of vibe.

Mike had, predictably, hated it.

Makes you look like one of those New Age witches or something, hed said.

So no wonder it was the one piece of clothing she made sure to wear tonight. Loose and flowing, it would look perfectly in place at the restaurant or later, at the club.

Not like shed be playing at the club, anyway. Just watching.

She wasnt about to cheat on Mike, even if the marriage was effectively dead. All she wanted to do was feel alive for the night, like there were actually people out there who didnt mind talking with her or spending time with her.

All this started with a book club.

She couldnt even remember how that conversation had started with Marcia, but shed ended up hooked up with Shayla”who turned out to be one of Marcias kinky friends in the lifestyle”and their book club group.

Just being with people had made her feel lighter every week.

And then shed bought a Kindle and started buying recommended reads theyd already devoured.

Wasnt like she had any other hobbies at that point. Until shed brought up her dissatisfaction with her marriage, Mike hadnt had any problem with her going to book club meetings, or buying the Kindle, or any of that. It meant more time he could spend, in peace, in front of the TV.

She was ready to leave for dinner when Derrick and Marcia were. Do I look okay?

Marcia hugged her. You look beautiful.

Thank you. Im glad someone thinks so.

Chapter Four.

Whereas the first time Mel had dinner with Marcia and Derrick and their friends a few weeks earlier, shed been too busy listening and asking questions to really observe.

Tonight, she almost felt like an outsider.

And not by any of their doing. Everyone was very nice and trying to keep her pulled into the conversations. The last time shed been so overwhelmed that thered been no time for her to process. Shed been mentally body surfing through the tsunami of information and people and truths and realizations without any time to really process what was going on.

But with the truth settling inside her, she realized these people might be the only friends she had left by the time Mike got done with her, if he made good on his threats to tell what few friends she still had about her pervy habits.

And h.e.l.l, that threat had come from when shed mentioned to him books shed read, and suggested they try spicing up their love life.

If had Mike reacted like that over books, she had no clue how ballistic hed go in real life if he found out she really was interested in pursuing this.

Ed and his wife were there, even though they werent going to the club later. Call my office first thing Monday morning, he said. Ill leave a note for my receptionist to make sure to work you into the schedule early this week.

This made it real. It sealed it in her mind.

Now, she just needed to make sure she followed through and didnt back down.

They left the restaurant before anyone else. As they headed to the club, Mel rode in the backseat and tried to make some sort of sense of her thoughts.

Are you doing okay? Marcia asked her.

I dont honestly know. Not that I didnt have fun at dinner, she quickly added. Everyone has been wonderful. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.

Its a lot to take in, Marcia a.s.sured her. Youve got a lot on your mind.

Derrick chimed in. If at any time tonight you feel overwhelmed and want to leave, just let us know, he said. I can always run you back to the house.

I appreciate that. Id rather stay and watch. Or, can I help out? Do you need any volunteers or anything?

<script>