24

Buck looks at me from a position of strength, preening like he’s a rooster winning the cockfight. He’s a fool. Doesn’t he know all the animals die in those games? He has resumed his position standing between me and my wife. I can’t believe both of them, wearing their stupid matching Lakeside tourist sweatshirts. Did they plan that, too?

“Paul, sit down,” he says. He points to the spot on the couch. I defy him, a little victory, and sit down in the closest blue club chair. I’m tired. And bored with them. I yawn.

“Are we boring you, Paul?” he asks.

“Cocky asshole, yes, you are,” I say.

Mia steps forward, closer to me. She’s back. I think I’ve won her back. I smile my most winning smile and feel her being drawn toward me. I’m a magnet. I can almost reach out and touch her arm as she points to the documents on the table. Her red, blotchy, tear-streaked face is hideous in the candlelight. But I still love her, poor thing.

“Paul. Here is the separation agreement. I need you to sign it, and then leave and go to the hotel room I reserved for you at the Lakeside Inn. All of your belongings have been taken there already,” Mia says. Her voice is quiet, shaky. I think maybe Buck has talked her into this whole ridiculous exercise. When I get her alone again, I’ll smooth everything over. She stands and backs away, stopping next to Buck. From there she adds, “Except I kept a couple of things you won’t be needing.”

How dare she rummage through my things? When did she even have the time? When I was at the store purchasing items for her, from her grocery list just to make her happy? Bitch. But still, there is nothing of note hidden in my belongings, I’m sure. A little folder about the Texas land, that’s all. I wonder again what else she knows, what is making her take this step.

“Mia, you surprise me. You’ve turned sneaky. Conniving. A planner. Everything you hate in the world. Bravo,” I say, raising an invisible glass in a mock salute. “I’ve taught you well.”

Mia shakes her head. I’m unsure what to do next. Has she gone through my briefcase? What does she have? For a moment my heart thuds in my chest as I remember the special envelope. I think back to the sink fire, relieved.

Mia walks back toward the table, coming closer to me, holding a pen. “You will keep the home in Columbus as your primary residence since it was yours when we married. The cottage will be mine. You’ll see I’ve been more than fair, about everything.”

I wonder how many of her daddy’s expensive New York City attorneys billed time against this document. It doesn’t matter, really. I know it will be airtight, unbreakable. I am signing the end to this gravy train.

If I sign.

I pretend Buck is not in the room, and address only Mia. “Look, honey, it’s late. We’re all tired, a little worked up. Why don’t I go on over to the inn and we can look these things over in the morning? How’s that?” I ask.

Mia looks at Buck, Buck stares at me.

He says, “No. That doesn’t work. We need this signed tonight. I don’t trust you to come back over. I don’t believe anything you say.”

“Who are you anyway, and why are you here?” I ask for the umpteenth time tonight, standing once more. Mia jumps back and hides behind Buck. The fire in my soul is starting to burn. “I want you out of my house now. This is between my wife and me.”

“Paul, calm down,” Mia says. She has stepped toward me again. Buck stops her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turns and looks up at him. She’s a traitor.

“May I?” he asks her.

Mia looks at him like a lost puppy dog and nods a silent yes. Clearly my mutt needs a little retraining.

It’s Buck’s turn to take a step toward me, putting himself between Mia and me, his favorite position tonight. “Sit back down and I’ll tell you everything. And then you will sign, and you will leave. You can even go back to Columbus tonight, if that’s your preference.”

It’s an interesting idea. Maybe I will do that. Head back home, enjoy the drive without Mia’s nonsense in the passenger seat. She can be stranded up here with Buck and her strawberry babies. I’ll be home by three, climb into bed and wake up with the boys in the morning. After Claudia leaves, I’ll begin explaining to them why they won’t ever see their mommy again. They’ll have a new, young brunette mommy named Gretchen. Or, if for some reason I can’t finagle anything out of Mia, perhaps I’ll find another woman with money. It’ll all work out. I know women. This is my favorite subject.

I think about that option. A new, wealthy lover. It’s enticing. Especially if I agree to leave, Mia will take most of the assets. I’m sure that’s in the document. She doesn’t know about the second mortgage on the Columbus house—I needed some emergency funds a while back. Without Donald’s Christmas gifts, or Mia’s seemingly endless gravy train from her parents, cash will be tight for the boys and me. Except, I remember, they have a trust fund. I smile and sit down in my favorite chair as Buck takes a seat in the other blue chair. Gretchen could work, as long as I have the boys’ trust fund. I have choices, many choices much better than this one.

Mia seems to be hiding in the corner, a trapped gray creature. She looks like a rat, a sneaky rat with shiny, beady rodent eyes. The room is hot, I feel sweat trickle down my back and I’m the only one not wearing a ridiculous LAKESIDE sweatshirt. Why isn’t Buck sweating, too? He seems calm, almost too calm. He leans toward me, resting his elbows on his thighs, his chiseled chin on top of his clasped hands. I fight the urge to deck him then and there.

Curiosity stops me from punching him just yet. I need to hear what good old Buck has to say.