I put on my favorite outfit, something I hadn’t worn since before D-Day (Divorce Day). I also spent extra time on my makeup, even plucking my eyebrows, which shows I was motivated.
The clock moved slowly. At a quarter to five my doorbell rang, and my heart jumped a little. I was glad he was early. I quickly opened the door. Clive stood in the doorway.
“Sorry, I left my house key at the police station,” he said. “You would think they’d make it a point to return your property.”
“Otherwise you would have just walked in?” I asked. Clive didn’t respond. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk with you.”
“About what?”
“It’s important.”
“Important? Like our marriage wasn’t?”
“Maggie, don’t do this.”
I shook my head as I stepped back from the door. “You have ten minutes. I need to be someplace.”
“Where?”
“That’s not any of your business. And the clock is ticking.”
“I don’t believe you’re timing me.” He walked past me to the kitchen. I followed him in as he opened the refrigerator. “Do you have anything to eat?”
“You have nine minutes. What do you want, Clive?”
He grabbed a pear out of the refrigerator, then sat down at the table, gesturing to a seat next to him. I leaned against the counter. “What is it, Clive?”
“I have a court date.” He took a bite of the pear. “December fourteenth.”
“Congratulations,” I said sardonically. “And this has what to do with me?”
“I want you there. By my side.”
“You want me to come to court with you?”
He took another bite. “Yes. To show support.”
“Why would I do that?”
“To show the jury that I’m not such a bad guy.”
“But you are.”
“Am I? Wasn’t I good to you? Weren’t we happy?”
“I thought we were.”
“If you think you’re happy, you are.” He looked at me. “Come on, Maggie. Just this one thing. It’s important.”
“Why don’t you get your other wife to do it? I’m sure she’d be happy to take my place.”
“For the record, Jennifer didn’t know about you either,” he said. “Look, I know I made a mistake.”
“A mistake? Taking the wrong exit is a mistake. Taking a second wife is a bit more deliberate.”
“Yes, I’m a broken man. I’m a sinner. Is that what you want to hear?”
“I want to hear you leaving my house.”
He shook his head. “You mean, the house I bought?”
“The house we bought,” I said.
He just looked at me. “You know, you used to be nice. You’ve changed.”
“I wonder why.”
He was quiet a moment, then said, “Maggie, I really need your help. I could end up in prison. Do this, and I’ll make it up to you somehow.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. What do you want?”
“I want you to leave me out of this.”
He sighed. “Mag, how does my going to jail serve the greater good? I know you’re angry, but you still have a good heart. You don’t want to be responsible for me going to jail.”
“Now I’m responsible?” I groaned. “This is just like you, Clive. You’re a master at turning things around. That’s why you were such a good lawyer.”
“Is that a compliment?”
I shook my head. Just then the doorbell rang.
“Expecting someone?” he asked.
“I have a date.”
“A date?” He stood, taking his pear. “That didn’t take long.”
“You need to go.”
He just looked at me, then said, “Think about it.”
“I don’t need to.”
“Since when did you become so heartless?”
“If I were heartless, Clive, my heart wouldn’t hurt so much.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“Well, you sure didn’t mean not to.”
He threw his hands up in mock surrender. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I never deserved you.” He walked to the door, then turned back. “Just because I loved someone else doesn’t mean that I ever stopped loving you. I didn’t. I still love you. I never wanted the divorce. You know that.”
“You had to divorce one of us.”
“I don’t know why I needed something more. It’s something broken in me. I’m getting therapy.”
There was a knock on the door.
“You need to leave, Clive.”
He breathed out deeply. “Okay. I’ll go.”
I opened the door. Andrew stood in the doorway. The two men looked at each other.
“Be good to her,” Clive said.
“I intend to,” Andrew replied.
Clive turned back to me. “Think about it, Mag.” He furtively glanced at Andrew, then walked past him to his car. He was driving a new Audi with the paper dealer plates still in the window.
I turned to Andrew. “I’m sorry. Come in.”
Andrew stepped inside. “Clive?”
“In the flesh.”
Andrew shut the door behind himself. “Are you okay?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer. It had been such a shock seeing him. “I’m fine.”
He just looked at me. “Are you sure?”
I began to tear up. I quickly brushed a tear from my cheek. “I don’t know if I’m okay.” The tears began to fall.
Andrew took my hand. “Come here.” He led me over to the couch. We sat down next to each other, our knees touching. He looked into my face. “What did he want?”
“He . . .” I couldn’t speak. I just started crying harder. Andrew put his arm around me and pulled me into him. I laid my face on his shoulder and sobbed. For nearly five minutes he just held me, gently running his hand over my back, saying softly, “You’re going to be okay.”
When I had gained some composure, I looked up into his face. “He wants me to be with him at his trial.”
“Why would he ask that?”
“He thinks it will help with the jury.”
“I’m sure it will. But why would he think he could ask that of you?”
“Because he knows I will. I always give in to him.”
“You don’t need to.” He looked into my face. “Do you still love him?”
I swallowed. “I don’t know. We were married nine years. Is it wrong if part of me still does?”
Andrew slowly shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong with that. You’re loyal, even if he wasn’t. Just don’t let him use that against you.”
Why is he so kind to me? “Thank you.”
He said tenderly, “I worry about you.”
“I’m glad you worry about me.”
He touched my face softly, stroking my cheek with the back of his hand. “You’ll get through this. I promise. I’ll help you.”
I looked deeply into his eyes. “Will you?”
He nodded. “Yes.” His face moved closer to mine, his eyes both wild and soft. I moved forward to meet him, our lips pressing together.
It was bliss, his soft lips and hard, whiskered face against my face. His love felt so sweet. I just wanted to bury all my pain in him. I wanted to escape in him. For the next several hours, I did just that. I couldn’t believe what I’d done. I’d fallen in love.
Chapter Seventeen
Andrew invited me on a trip to Mexico. It’s just a trip. Right? It’s just a trip. Right.
—Maggie Walther’s Diary
I slept in the next morning. I woke hungry for a change. Andrew and I had never gone out to dinner. Instead we had talked until early in the morning. Actually, we had talked and kissed.
My phone vibrated with a text. I rolled over and grabbed it, hoping it was from him. It was. I had also missed a phone call from Carina twenty minutes earlier.