Authors: Michelle Love
Sarah, her eyes cold, didn’t react. ‘Can you get a message to Dan?’
Caroline’s eyes shone with both curiosity and glee. ‘You bet I can.’
Sarah had the urge to punch the other woman. ‘Good. Tell him I want to arrange a meeting. At the house. I’ll be there all day today. If he wants to meet, tell him to be there. If not, I’ll assume – ‘ and now she grinned at the smirking Caroline, ‘I’ll assume he’s changed his mind about ‘
wanting me back’
.’ She was rewarded by Caroline’s face, all mirth wiped out.
‘I’ll tell him but I wouldn’t hold your breath.’ Caroline’s tone had dropped to ice cold which just made Sarah’s smile wider.
‘Oh, I don’t think I’ll be the one holding my breath. Later.’
She turned and walked away, hearing Caroline hiss a curse after her. Without turning, she raised her middle finger behind her, grinning.
Dan called the Varsity less than an hour later.
‘Sarah.’ His voice was warm, friendly.
Sarah blew out a breath. ‘Will you come by the house later? We need to talk.’
‘Of course. I can’t give you an exact time, I have some business in the city but I promise, I’ll be there today, my darling.’
Isaac called her at lunchtime. ‘Hey you, how’s it going?’
Sarah looked around the living room of her house. ‘It’s weird being back. Not good weird, either.’
‘You sure you want to do this? I could cancel my trip to ‘Frisco, you know.’
‘Nah, don’t, it’s only one night and as soon as I’ve done here, I’m heading to Molly’s. You know what’s weird, what I realized coming back here?’
‘What’s that, beautiful?’
She gave a sad sigh. ‘I don’t belong here anymore. I’m not sure I ever did.’
‘Why don’t you pack all your stuff up? Just move out. We can put stuff in storage if we can’t get it all in here.’
She sighed. ‘Good idea. Honestly, at this point, I want to take my clothes, my books, my records and the rest can be sold with the house. A new start.’
Isaac laughed softly.. ‘You and me both, baby.’ There was something in his voice she couldn’t understand – a sadness.’
‘What is it, Isaac?’
He hesitated. ‘Nothing. Just some crap I’m dealing with, nothing for you to worry about.’
She wasn’t convinced but didn’t push it. ‘I wish Dan would hurry up and get here, the sooner this is all resolved…’
‘I hate that you’re out there alone.’
‘I’ll be fine. I want to get it done. Besides, I had the locks changed.’
‘You have your gun with you?’
‘I do.
Hopefully,
it won’t come to that – I’ve been thinking. Maybe we’re all just a little too paranoid about this whole thing. I’ll call you later if anything happens.’
‘Call me anyway. I mean it – even if you just get spooked. And get Finn over there too.’
‘I will. I love you.’
‘Me too, darling. Always.’
It took her longer to clean up the house than she’d planned. In the
rooms
she seldom used – especially since Dan had left - a thick layer of dust lay across the furniture. Moving from room to room, she dusted, tidied and removed anything she wanted to keep. There wasn’t much, she
realized
and felt a pang of regret. Is this what her life added up to? In the kitchen she set out boxes, loading them with her books, her records, her cd’s.
She looked out of the window to the porch where she’d sat with Dan so many evenings. She tried to reconcile that man with the one who’d left her and returned as…whatever he was now. Had there been signs?
Trying to shrug off the feeling of unease, she finished her packing upstairs, throwing all her clothes into two suitcases, sweeping all her toiletries and makeup into zip-lock bags. She grinned when she thought of Molly and her vast clothing collection – she would pass out if she saw how Sarah had thrown
together
her suitcase. Still grinning she lugged the cases downstairs and out to her truck. She was aware the daylight had begun to fade and hurriedly carried the rest of the boxes to the truck.
She went back into the house to wait for Dan, looking around the silent house.
I will never sleep here again
, and she knew with certainty the truth of her thought. She checked each room for anything she’d forgotten. In the music room, she sat down at the piano, tapping out a little tune, sadness welling up in her chest. For a while, with Dan, it had seemed like they’d built a good life here. That life seemed a million miles away now.
She went into the kitchen to make coffee and checked her phone.
Be with you as soon as I can. D.
Ugh. She hated that he had her cell phone number – she’d ditch it after all this was over.
***
Isaac went to the restaurant just after noon. He’d chosen a low key out of the way place and changed from his suit to a casual jeans and tee, stuck a baseball cap over his dark curls.
The waitress led him to an empty table at the back of the room and took his order. A scotch, straight up. He fidgeted in his chair, checking his phone.
‘Isaac?’
He looked up into the face of the blonde woman. Her blue eyes were large and innocent, long eyelashes sweeping down to her cheeks – false, he guessed. Her long blonde hair was swept up into a graceful chignon, her clothes simple but expensive. He should know, he thought, half-smiling, he paid for them. She smiled down at him warmly. ‘It’s so wonderful to see you again.’
He stood to kiss her cheek. ‘Clare.’ He pulled out her chair for her.
‘Always such a gentlemen.’ She sat down opposite him and placed her hand on his. He gently moved his hand away and sat back.
‘Clare, you look good.’
She smiled coquettishly. ‘Thank you. Although I pale in comparison to your new girlfriend. She’s a rare beauty. Very exotic, very different from me.’
So she knew about Sarah. Isaac sighed.
‘Clare, what is it you want?’
Clare smiled. ‘I came because…I wanted us to be friends, to be in each other’s lives. We left things so…unfinished.’
Isaac raised his eyebrows. ‘Clare, to me, they were totally finished.’
Her ice blue eyes narrowed. ‘You send me divorce papers while I’m supposed to be at my mother’s funeral?’
‘The key word there being
supposed
,’ his voice hardened. ‘Did you really think I didn’t know about the other men? Funny how your mother’s
funeral
– and I’m glad to hear she’s doing just fine by the way – funny how it coincided with Sebastian Gaspard being at the Cannes film festival, don’t you think?’
Clare smiled and this time, there was no warmth to it. ‘What did you expect? You were absent, Isaac, all the time. You were working all hours.’ She studied him for a long moment. ‘Do you make time for
her
, Isaac?’
He looked back at her evenly. ‘I’d give up the business for her. Is that what you wanted to hear?’
Clare flinched. ‘Does she know about me?’
Isaac hesitated a beat too long and Clare grinned. ‘Oh, you bad man.’ She giggled. ‘Well, I suppose you don’t want her to know about your little secret.’
The threat was implicit. Isaac’s chin lifted. ‘I haven’t told her because there’s nothing to tell. Our marriage lasted less than six months, Clare. As far as I’m concerned, it wasn’t anything close to resembling a marriage. And don’t forget, I pay you a very generous alimony to stay away.’
Clare nodded her head in ascent. ‘You do, I won’t deny that. But, Isaac, do you really want to start your new life with her with a lie?’
Isaac sighed, pulled out his wallet and threw some money on the table. ‘Try anything and see how fast your good life disappears, Clare. No, do us both a favor. Go back to New York and enjoy the lifestyle my money pays for.’
He stood. ‘Goodbye, Clare.’ And he stalked out of the restaurant.
Shit, shit, shit.
Isaac walked back to his office, his mind racing. Well, this was easily solved. He ruled out his cell phone and called Sarah.
‘
Hey,
babe.’
Her voice made warmth flood through him. ‘Hey yourself, gorgeous. Dan
showed
up yet?’
He heard her frustrated sigh. ‘Nope. Asshole’s playing a power game. He won’t win, I’m determined to wait him out, however late he may turn up.’
Isaac frowned. ‘Sarah…I mean it, I don’t like you out there all alone.’
‘Don’t worry, sweetheart, the cavalry’s outside. Finn’s parked in the woods like a blonde ninja. God forbid any
actual
crime happens on the island today.’ She sounded amused and Isaac relaxed a little.
‘Look, sweetheart, we need to talk about a couple of things and this isn’t the ideal time to tell you this but - and keep in mind that it has no bearing on
us
– I used to be married.’
There it was, it was out, quick, brutal. Isaac waited for her hang up or yell or cry.
‘Okay.’
He blinked. ‘Okay?’
Sarah laughed softly. ‘Okay. Like you said, it has no bearing on us now. You’re divorced, right?’
‘For a long time. It was a huge mistake from the beginning and it lasted less than six months. She
cheated
practically from the moment the vows were said.’
Sarah made a disgusted noise. ‘What an idiot, I mean, have you seen you? I do have one question.
Why
tell me now?’
Isaac sighed. ‘Because she just got in touch. I just met with her – in public – and I’m still none the wiser why she got in touch now except she knows about you. Maybe she just wanted to make trouble.’
‘You know what, Iss? I’m getting real tired of ex-spouses.’ But there was humor in her voice and Isaac, relief flooding through him, laughed.
‘Me too. The sooner we are married the better, I think. Show the world it’s you and me forever.’
‘You had me at forever. We’ll talk about it
tomorrow
when you get back.’
‘You’ll be at the coffee house?’
‘All day.’
‘I love you. Stay safe, beautiful…and kick your ex’s ass.’
Sarah laughed. ‘I will. Enjoy San Francisco, I’ll miss you.’
***
When she opened the door, Dan was smiling. He held out a bottle of champagne. ‘A peace offering. For my visit to the hospital. I didn’t mean to upset you, truly.’
Sarah took it warily. ‘Thank you.’ She glanced at the clock. Eleven-thirty p.m. She’d been asleep on the couch when she heard Dan’s car pull up. For a second she thought about ignoring his knock but he’d knocked on the window, waved at her. Asshole. He’d waited until they’d given up for the day. She’d sent Finn home. Stupid, stupid.
Dan smiled at her.
‘May I come in?’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘Dan…it’s almost midnight’
He put a hand on her arm. ‘Sarah, please. Let me come and apologize properly.’ Wanting to deal with this situation won out over irritation so she stepped aside to let him in and followed him into the kitchen. She shoved the table against the back door, still not trusting it to hold after she’d broken in the day Buddy had died. The boxes she’d packed were already safely in her truck; all she wanted was to get this over and done with leave this place forever.
Dan immediately pulled the table away from the door, into the exact position it had been when he’d lived there, his smile almost a rictus. He sat down and looked at her expectantly.
‘Awkward, this table being like that. What happened?’ He smirked.
Sarah felt her stomach twist with irritation.
‘I lost my key. I had to break in. Look, Dan, I’m tired, let’s get this over with.’
He held his hands up. ‘Of course, I’m sorry.’
She studied him, his easy manner seeming to jar with the self-satisfaction in his eyes. ‘Dan, we are over. You must know that. We were over the minute you left.’
‘Do you want to know why I left?’
She sighed. ‘Do I want to know? You tell me. Was it something I did?’
Dan smiled. ‘Sarah, please sit down with me. Just want to clear the air between us.’ She sat down reluctantly. ‘Sarah, I left because….well, you obviously found the letter from my family’s lawyer. I left because of that. My real name is Ray Petersen. I was estranged from my family for many years because of the abuse they subjected me to when I was a child. As soon as I could I left, changed my name, made a new life for myself. Met the most beautiful girl.’ He smiled, his face soft. ‘Married her, made a good life here in this wonderful place.’
Sarah listened in silence, trying to read his eyes. For some
reason,
she believed him. ‘Why did you leave?’ Her voice cracked and she felt all the old feelings of sadness flood through her. ‘Why did you change so much, become so controlling?’