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“Thanks, Dad.” Alexis says goodnight to her father, then watches him saunter away. “Did I just hallucinate or were you sitting quietly, having coffee with my dad?”
“Trust me, I’m as perplexed as you are.” I stand and pull her against my side. “The man apologized to me. Becoming a grandfather has clearly had a profound effect on him.”
“That and Erica’s epic rant, which I’ll tell you all about on the ride home.”
“Your place or mine?”
Alexis smiles. “Yours, please.”
We pick up my car from the parking garage and head off in the direction of home. I hold Alexis’s hand as I navigate the busy streets. Saturday-evening traffic forces us to take the long way in order to avoid getting stuck at a standstill.
As it happens, the long way leads us through my old neighborhood.
The closer we get to the house I once shared with my ex—the source of so many tension headaches and checks made out to my divorce lawyer—the more certain I am that I don’t want to waste any more time and money on it.
“Do you mind if we make a quick stop?” I ask.
“No, not at all,” Alexis says, squeezing my hand.
A mile or so down the road, I turn into the driveway of my old house, a good-sized, brick, Georgian-style home with a carriage house around back. I park in front of the garage next to Bonnie’s SUV.
“Nice house,” Alexis says. “Whose is it?”
“Mine.”
“What?” She squints. “This is your house?”
“Not for much longer.” I kiss the confused look off her face. “This’ll just take a second.”
I climb out of the car and make my way to the side door by the kitchen.
For a second, it occurs to me how odd it should feel to knock on my own door. But although my name is still on the deed, this house hasn’t felt like mine in a long time.
Bonnie answers the door wearing an apron and a stunned expression.
“Gavin,” she says. “This is...unexpected. Are you here to discuss the offer? Because we already told your attorney we’re not budging any lower than sixty percent.”
“I wanted to tell you in person that I've decided to sign the settlement.”
“You have?" She leans against the doorjamb. “I'm so happy to hear that.”
“I'm not doing it to make you happy. I'm doing it because I'm done fighting with you over something I no longer care about. I'm moving on, and I can't ask my girlfriend to marry me while I'm still technically married to you."
Her messy bun flops over as she tilts her head to the side. “Since when do you have a girlfriend?”
I step back from the door.
“Goodbye, Bonnie.”
I return to my car where Alexis is waiting patiently, her gaze locked on the side door where Bonnie still stands gawking.
“Is that your ex-wife?” Alexis asks.
“Yep. That’s Bonnie.” I take her hand and hold it tight. “I told her I’d sign the settlement. It’s time to close that chapter of my life.”
“Did you get her to come down to half?”
“Not quite. I’m accepting forty percent.”
