right words. But the ones he did come up with shocked me. “I love Bren enough to want to make her happy—I’d do anything to make her happy; you know that. If this is what she wants, I’m not going to stand in her way.”
Virginia’s heart visibly broke at that as she sank into the couch, taking in Eddie’s words. There were tears in her eyes as she turned an accusing glare on me. “So, this was all your idea?”
I was touched by what my husband said, so I guess I didn’t immediately register that his proclamation made me out to be the bad guy. Time to suck it up. The divorce was my idea. “Yes,” I offered simply, laying myself on the altar.
“But… But you love him! And he loves you! There has to be a way to save this. Have you considered counseling?”
“We have,” I answered.
“ And? ”
My eyes dropped to my feet, unable to come up with the right thing to say. She’d backed me into a corner and I certainly didn’t want to lie just to get out of it. Eddie and I made the decision long ago that we were going to be as honest with our friends as humanly possible about our reasons for separating, so I had no idea how I could even begin to discuss a subject that was venturing into such a gray area. Saying anything specific about counseling required more detail than I was willing to offer.
Luckily, he spoke up for me. “We’ve been in counseling for the past six months, Gin. It’s not working. We weren’t getting anywhere and we can’t afford to go anymore anyway.”
My head snapped up at his confession. He shot a quick glance in my direction, silently seeking forgiveness for letting that little cat out of the bag, willing me to approve his comment. After the initial shock wore off, I was able to give him a nod of my head in acceptance. Because he’d managed to dispense the line of questioning with a succinct, ambiguous answer, our friends could tell we were uncomfortable discussing it, and they wouldn’t press us for details.
Anthony had been watching the conversation go down in complete silence, his head following along in mute observation. Suddenly, though, he broke his quiet to ask us the sixty-four-thousand dollar question—no pun intended. “Is this really all about money?”
The inquiry was aimed directly at me, so I knew Eddie or Virginia must have already told Tony about the main reason for our divorce. “Not exactly the way you’re making it sound, but yes,” I admitted, head held high.
Tony clenched his jaw, hesitating for a brief second before his eyes tightened, scrutinizing me. “Why? Because you don’t want to work? I’ve heard that complaint from you before, Brenda, and let me tell you something: It’s lazy . You want to sit on a throne all day eating bon-bons? Eddie could never afford to give you that kind of life.”
His words were like a bucket of ice water thrown in my face. I’d been friends with Tony since high school, but it suddenly became apparent to me that he viewed our friendship as expendable. I’d been accused, tried, and convicted within a matter of minutes, and the sentence was undeniably clear: Tony’s loyalties would remain with Eddie. I was the outsider in this little circle. I was the villain.
Instinctively, I shot my gaze over to Virginia. Surely, she’d still be on my side through this, no? But my best friend was having some trouble meeting my eyes, her focus trained on the twisting skirt in her ironclad grasp.
Eddie’s head was down, but his brows were raised as he met my glare. The look on his face was pained, consumed with a mixture of guilt and pride.
The revelation was unmistakable. The three of them were making it pretty damn clear where the line had been drawn… and that I was on the wrong side of it.
“Well,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “I guess I should be going. Thank you both for a lovely dinner.”
I rose, grabbing my
Virginia’s heart visibly broke at that as she sank into the couch, taking in Eddie’s words. There were tears in her eyes as she turned an accusing glare on me. “So, this was all your idea?”
I was touched by what my husband said, so I guess I didn’t immediately register that his proclamation made me out to be the bad guy. Time to suck it up. The divorce was my idea. “Yes,” I offered simply, laying myself on the altar.
“But… But you love him! And he loves you! There has to be a way to save this. Have you considered counseling?”
“We have,” I answered.
“ And? ”
My eyes dropped to my feet, unable to come up with the right thing to say. She’d backed me into a corner and I certainly didn’t want to lie just to get out of it. Eddie and I made the decision long ago that we were going to be as honest with our friends as humanly possible about our reasons for separating, so I had no idea how I could even begin to discuss a subject that was venturing into such a gray area. Saying anything specific about counseling required more detail than I was willing to offer.
Luckily, he spoke up for me. “We’ve been in counseling for the past six months, Gin. It’s not working. We weren’t getting anywhere and we can’t afford to go anymore anyway.”
My head snapped up at his confession. He shot a quick glance in my direction, silently seeking forgiveness for letting that little cat out of the bag, willing me to approve his comment. After the initial shock wore off, I was able to give him a nod of my head in acceptance. Because he’d managed to dispense the line of questioning with a succinct, ambiguous answer, our friends could tell we were uncomfortable discussing it, and they wouldn’t press us for details.
Anthony had been watching the conversation go down in complete silence, his head following along in mute observation. Suddenly, though, he broke his quiet to ask us the sixty-four-thousand dollar question—no pun intended. “Is this really all about money?”
The inquiry was aimed directly at me, so I knew Eddie or Virginia must have already told Tony about the main reason for our divorce. “Not exactly the way you’re making it sound, but yes,” I admitted, head held high.
Tony clenched his jaw, hesitating for a brief second before his eyes tightened, scrutinizing me. “Why? Because you don’t want to work? I’ve heard that complaint from you before, Brenda, and let me tell you something: It’s lazy . You want to sit on a throne all day eating bon-bons? Eddie could never afford to give you that kind of life.”
His words were like a bucket of ice water thrown in my face. I’d been friends with Tony since high school, but it suddenly became apparent to me that he viewed our friendship as expendable. I’d been accused, tried, and convicted within a matter of minutes, and the sentence was undeniably clear: Tony’s loyalties would remain with Eddie. I was the outsider in this little circle. I was the villain.
Instinctively, I shot my gaze over to Virginia. Surely, she’d still be on my side through this, no? But my best friend was having some trouble meeting my eyes, her focus trained on the twisting skirt in her ironclad grasp.
Eddie’s head was down, but his brows were raised as he met my glare. The look on his face was pained, consumed with a mixture of guilt and pride.
The revelation was unmistakable. The three of them were making it pretty damn clear where the line had been drawn… and that I was on the wrong side of it.
“Well,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “I guess I should be going. Thank you both for a lovely dinner.”
I rose, grabbing my
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