Read Online Reconcilable Differences: A 'Having It All' Novel by M A Clarke Scott - Free Book Online

Suddenly he
didn’t need me and he didn’t have the time of day for me, either.” D'arcy shook
her head emphatically.
    “It felt like…” Kate prompted.
    “When you had all those parties… it felt like my needs
weren’t being considered. Our home was suddenly a flop house for all kinds of
strangers.”
    “Hah,” grunted Eli, lifting his chin, sneering. “You
liked artists well enough before, when you could be the great patrona .” Kate studied Eli
carefully. A little chip on his shoulder.
    “Eli. Please. You’ll have another chance.” Kate reminded
him, gently but firmly. With one eye she noticed that Simon had turned in his
chair, studying her over his fingertips, eyes narrow. Her heart jumped.
    Eli gave himself a shake and turned his whole body away
from D'arcy, tossing his hair back. He picked up his fountain pen and sketched
on the notepad in front of him, as though he were alone. Kate watched Eli’s
long graceful fingers work with assurance. In just a few seconds, his finesse
with a pen became evident. Against her better judgment, she glanced at Simon's
hands, reminding herself of his long, elegant, sensitive fingers, and what they
were capable of. She tore her eyes away.
    Kate jotted notes, listening, waiting.
    “He thinks he feels discarded.” D’arcy’s lip quivered, but she got herself under control and
stared intently at her hands. “I felt… I felt as though he couldn’t care less
about me anymore. I had plenty of time to sit at home alone and think about it,
too. He was always out, or traveling. He had new friends. It’s like he’s drunk
on his success. In love with it, you know? You’d think all those years of hard
work and patience and frustration never happened.”
    D’arcy’s eyes glazed, unfocussed. Kate waited, not
speaking, just watching D'arcy, giving her time.
    “Eli was suddenly a big shot. That’s what I resented. It
was crass. It seemed false, to me. I didn’t know him anymore.” D'arcy seemed to
cringe, remembering. “Suddenly he was this huge spender, buying things, giving
gifts, and throwing money around.
    “One day, he came home with a ridiculous, extravagant
yellow sports car. What was that?” D'arcy said incredulously, her hands spread
wide. “That’s not even you!” She enumerated his purchases one by one on her
precisely manicured fingers. “New clothes. Electronics. Jewelry. Fancy
restaurants. I mean, what is he trying to prove? We’ve always had enough, but
we’ve lived within our means.”
    “ Ad
infinitum -- I have a spread sheet showing spending for the year to
date. It’s very enlightening– ” offered Sharon, holding out a sheet of lined
paper. D'arcy ignored her, as did everyone else except Eli, who cast a hostile
glower her way, sneering. “–if you’re interested.”
    Kate squinted at her. “Thank you. Sharon.” Simon rubbed
his hands over his face, and Kate was shocked to see the corner of his mouth
turned up in a sly grin. For a moment, she lost the thread of D’arcy’s
narrative, she was so distracted by Simon’s suppressed mirth.
    “…eating into our savings. My trust income is more or
less fixed, you know. It’s not a bottomless pit. I was concerned. I am concerned. I didn’t know if
or when it would stop.” D'arcy shook her head. “I can’t live like that.”
    Kate leaned in, concentrating hard on her clients’ words,
willing her nerve endings to ignore the man beside her, whose intellect and
warmth intimidated and intrigued her by turns.
    Eli’s mouth twisted. “You could have said something. How
do I know you’re getting so uptight about a few indulgences?”
    “I did say something. You seem to think that was the problem.” D'arcy
retorted.
    “I meant talk ,
not nag until I can’t stand it anymore. And then call your mother and complain
about me. I feel hen-pecked.”
    “How can I talk to you, Eli, when you never listen, you
never sit still? You’re never home.”
    Eli’s hand flew up to the back of his