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“If I remember correctly, this was going to be a group project.”
“You are correct.” Luna smiled. “When I get back from my adventure.”
“You have a deal, my friend.” Ellie gave Luna a hug. “I’ve got to run. Nathan and I are grabbing a bite to eat.”
Luna perked up. “Oh? You and Nathan?” she said accusingly.
“It’s not what you think,” Ellie protested.
“Ha! We shall revisit this conversation at a later date.” Luna gave her a knowing look.
Just as Ellie was about to leave, she said, “By the way, brilliant move on the Cullen and Chi-Chi front.”
Luna looked a bit confused.
“I know you had your hand in that rendezvous. Ciao!” Ellie smiled and left the café.
Chapter Twelve
After Tori’s trip to Stillwell
When Tori returned home from her first junket to the art center her husband was at work. She carefully unwrapped the beautiful hand-blown magic ball. She looked around but couldn’t decide where to hang it. It really didn’t go with any of her boring, Early American décor. She had to think about the last time they bought any new furniture. It had been years. Some of the furniture had come with the house and it still remained, probably because they could never agree on what style to purchase. He didn’t seem to care unless it was her idea. Then he would decide he didn’t like it. When she asked him what he wanted, he’d shrug. “Anything but that,” referring to her idea. She managed to get slipcovers for the sofa without any negative repercussions. Come to think of it, he never even mentioned it. She thought about buying new living-room furniture without him, then dealing with his objections, but it wasn’t worth it. He would just sulk for days, and things were tight enough. After thinking about their inability to agree on most things domestic, that’s when she decided to wrap the ball in its original tissue and place it back in the pretty shopping bag. She was going to stash it in her closet until, well, until she decided where it should go. For the moment, it was going to be her little secret.
She set the origami crane on the buffet chest in the dining room. She wondered if he would even notice it.
Tori went into the kitchen to fix herself some dinner only to find dirty dishes in the sink and the casserole dish from the stew sitting on the counter. She tossed the remains onto another plate and planned to pop it in the microwave after she began the ritual of cleaning up after him. She knew he wasn’t a bad guy. Just selfish and lazy.Must be a genetic defect with the Y chromosome.She chuckled. That seemed to be the main complaint she heard from other women as well.
She was surprised to see he had left a note, smudged of course, but it saidThanks!She couldn’t remember the last time he wrote down anything for her.
Before she pressed the start button on the food-zapping machine, she decided to change her clothes. When she went into the bedroom, she found a second note:
I’ll be staying at Jack’s tonight after my shift so we can get an early start tomorrow.
That was it. No, “love ya, love, see ya.” Typical. At least she knew she would get a good night’s sleep. If shecouldsleep. The half-hour drive home did not allow for any decompression from the day. And it had been quite a full day. Between the sensory overload of all the artwork and crafts, and her meeting with that Luna person, there was a lot of stuff in her head that needed sorting. One thing was for certain—she would be going back for an origami workshop, and again to see Luna. She was elated that she had made a number of decisions on her own. It was refreshing and invigorating.
Tori slipped into a pair of jogging pants and a sweatshirt and returned to the kitchen to heat up her dinner. She sat in silence, reliving the day. She stopped in the office. Drove to the center. Watched anxiously to see if she could get into the psychic’s café. Bought a magic ball and made origami. Saw the psychic for a few minutes. But those few minutes were very revealing. There was no way that woman could know anything about Tori or her situation. She was convinced it was through divine intervention that she had heard about that woman Luna, and because of her journey, she discovered more things about herself. For one, she could make a decision, even if it was a small one. Secondly, she could take control over her life, as much as anyone could take control. Then she thought about the odd shop with the metal sculptures.How odd,she thought.The honor system.But then again, the entire place had a vibe about it. Mysterious, yet obvious. Exhilarating, yet relaxing. It was hard to describe.
She fixed a cup of tea and ran a bath.Full circle, she thought. Once again, she poured Epsom salts under the running water and let the level rise until it almost overflowed. She dimmed the lights, lit a few candles, and lowered herself into the tub. She put her hand on her belly. She wasn’t showing yet, but she could feel something.
Tori lingered in the bath until the water became tepid. Time to step out and wrap up in a towel and robe. She padded her way into the bedroom and flopped on the bed. Tonight she would be sleeping alone. She figured it might be good practice. Even though her mind had been racing, she finally fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke the next morning, she realized that she and her husband hadn’t spoken to each other the entire day. She had left for the center, he to work, stayed at a friend’s, but not one phone call. That was out of the ordinary. He usually wanted to know every move she made. Maybe the artsy thing had turned him off. She could add that to her list of things her husband didn’t like about her.
Tori fixed her usual breakfast of toast and decaffeinated coffee and got ready for work. It dawned on her that she was unusually relaxed.Maybe the bath, she thought again.They should put it in pill form.Then she realized there were a lot of pills that could make you relax but she had never tried any of them. Maybe she should have before she got pregnant. Maybe it would have made her less numb to the loneliness.
Tori put herself together but with a little more effort that morning. A little more eye shadow and blush and a good blowout with her hair. She looked in the mirror and gave herself a thumbs-up.
Satisfied that the house was in good order, she made her way out the door, into her car and off to work, stopping at the coffee shop on the way. She figured Mr. Layton, George, might need a little pick-me-up donut after a frustrating day of golf. She could not remember a time when he had been happy about how he played. But from what she understood about the game, it was frustrating to a lot of people. She wouldn’t know. She had never played.
Tori pulled into the parking lot and entered the shop. She realized it was Thursday and looked around for the woman who wanted her to go to Ringo’s but didn’t spot her. She had hoped to get more information from her. She shrugged and ordered the usual, paid the check, and headed to the office.
When she reached her desk, she pulled out the pad and paper of the notes she had made about divorce in North Carolina. Did she really want to go through with it? Should she try to have a conversation with her husband and air her issues? That would seem like the reasonable, adult thing to do, but she wasn’t sure if he had ever reached adulthood in his emotional intelligence level. They had loved each other once. Or it had felt like love at the time. Then again, she had only been eighteen, with no idea what life was about and what was expected of a spouse, a job, a friend. Responsibility. To each other first. The rest of the world came second. She thought about that for a good long time until George Layton stood in his doorway and asked her to come in.
“Have a seat.”
“Am I in trouble?” Tori felt more nervous than usual.
“Not at all.” He gave her a warm smile. “I see where you were going through some of the law books about divorce.”
