It was just unfair to the rest of humanity.
She reached for a chip. The chair across from her moved and, as she looked up, Ollie sat down.
She sucked in air but said nothing.
“Did I do something? I thought you were happy to see me and now…” He shrugged.
She frowned at him, leaned forward, and whispered, “You’remarried. I don’t hang out with married men.”
“I’m not marr— Well, I am, but—” he sighed. “Let me start over.” He looked around like he didn’t want to be overhead. “My wife, Emily, and I are separated. She wants a divorce. I want to try to work things out.”
His entire mood seemed to drop. “At least I did. She’s being incredibly difficult and after a year of this, the light at the end of the tunnel seems to have gone out. I need to accept it, I guess.”
She stared at him, arms crossed. “You’re still wearing your wedding ring.”
He nodded, glancing at his hand. “Because I’ve kept the separation a secret. You have any idea the kind of gossip that goes on in a hospital? I’ve been trying to stay out of that.” He twisted the ring on his finger. “There’s no stopping the inevitable, I suppose.”
He dropped his hands to his lap where she couldn’t see them. “Emily texted me a month ago that she was having papers drawn up. It’s just a matter of time before they arrive. Then there’ll be no point in pretending. It’ll be done.”
Maude studied him. He looked genuinely upset. There was one thing she needed to know. “You still love her?”
“She’s the mother of my children and those kids are the best things that have ever happened to me. But I don’t know if I understand love anymore. I loved her the best that I could and it wasn’t enough.”
He smiled. “When I saw you on the beach, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought you were exactly what I needed. Someone who knew me. Someone who had their head on right. You always were my favorite person to talk to. I thought maybe talking to you would help me make sense of things again. Help me sort through the mess my life has become.”
Her brows lifted. “You thought I could do that? You’re a cardiologist. How much of a mess could your life be?”
“It feels pretty big right now.” He put his right hand on the table. “Are you just here because of Lester?”
“No. I live in the Colony. I moved in the day after my fifty-fifth birthday.” She smiled. “I guess you could say I embraced this new era of my life with grace and acceptance.”
He laughed. “You embraced getting older? I can’t imagine the Maude I knew doing that.” His smile faltered. “But I suppose we’ve both grown up, huh?”
“I don’t feel grown up.”
“Neither do I, most days. You still look like a million bucks, by the way. Better than you did in high school somehow. Tell me everything that’s happened in your life since I last saw you. Before the beach, I mean.”
She chuckled, flattered by his words. “That’s not a five-minute conversation. And you look pretty good yourself.”
“I don’t suppose it is a quick conversation. Listen, I’m sorry if I made you think…” His eyes narrowed. “What did you think?”
“That you figured we were going to reconnect in a way that would be something you’d want to keep from your wife.”
“Maudie, you know me better than that.”
“Yeah,” she said, smiling at the use of his nickname for her. “I let a Google search get into my head. Sorry about that.”
“You found my bio on the hospital’s website?”
She nodded.
He took a breath. “We haven’t told the kids yet. They know we’re separated, but that’s it.”
“Don’t you think it’s time if she’s getting paperwork drawn up?”
“Yes, but that was Emily’s idea. She thinks we should wait until Harper and Nolan get through their respective graduations.”
“Don’t they know you aren’t living in the same house? Or are you?”
