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43
Derrick
It had been several days since Augustine took off and at first I wasn't too alarmed with it. I figured she went to get her head around some stuff and she would be back. We were married, she had to come back home. It's not like she could just disappear, right?
That's exactly what she did though, she just disappeared, and I didn't know what to do. It was probably the second night and the third day when I started to get alarmed. Augustine had just taken off out of the blue, and I worried that something had happened. I was worried that something would happen. I worried that she wasn't going to come back, so many things were running through my head. I just wanted to talk to her. All she had to do was answer her phone and then everything would be alright. Why couldn't she just answer her phone?
She didn't answer her phone though and finally I started trying to track her down, but she didn't have a credit card with me yet. I had to physically go down to the bank when they wouldn't give me the information about her account. I had to show the bank my marriage license, but I checked on her credit card too and she hadn’t used it for anything. She withdrew about $10,000 from her bank account the same day she left, an amount that I didn't even realize she had. There was no telling how long she would be able to last with that amount of money. Augustine was very good with money, apparently. I had no way of finding her if she didn't answer her damn phone.
It was a last resort for me to go to her apartment. Not only was it going to be me showing the fact that I had failed to keep my wife happy, but I didn't really want to imagine all the questions that I was going to receive from her family. They were not bashful, and the mother especially would tell me exactly what was on her mind. It wasn't necessarily going to be a good thing either.
I was downright shocked to find out that she was not at her mother’s. I went to her apartment first and nobody was there, so I figured I would talk to her mom. It wasn't something that I wanted to do necessarily. She flirted with me, and it was kind of strange to be honest. At the end of the day though, I had to find her daughter, and Augustine didn't seem like the type that would just take off on everyone. I couldn't believe that she left me, but I must have made things too hard for her. It wasn't like my wife had just left me either, it was my assistant as well. It was a double doozy, but I missed my wife far more than my assistant. Work was a mess without her, but my life was far worse. I missed Augustine and I wanted her back.
Knocking on the door, I waited a moment before Evelyn answered and her face kind of fell a little bit when she saw me. I couldn't say that it was the best response that I’d had, but not the worst either. I had to wonder why she was looking at me like that. What was the look for, and what was on her mind? More than that, she had a look of somebody who did not know where her daughter was, and I thought that it was possibly for the first time.
“Is my daughter with you?” she asked me hopefully. I think she knew the answer before she even asked. Why would I be here?
My heart fell. I knew that Augustine wasn't going to be here, but if her mom was asking me where she was, then there was no telling. Augustine had taken off and she was doing whatever she wanted, and I didn't know what that was. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do next. Where was she?
“No, I haven't seen her in almost a week. I kept thinking that she'd come home after she stopped being mad at me, but she hasn't come home,” I admitted.
Evelyn opened the door and invited me in. She told me that she knew that something was off with Augustine the last time she talked to her.
“Did she say what was going on with her?”
Evelyn disagreed. “She just said that she was going to take a little trip and to not worry about her. It's not like Augustine at all. She didn't leave any way for me to get a hold of her. She hasn't talked to any of the family since she left, and she gave away her fish and her plants. I don't think she's coming back. She was paid up with her aunt for the next seven or eight months, so I doubt we will hear anything from her until she is done doing whatever it is she's doing. Do you know why she took off?”
Obviously, I knew why she had taken off. I didn't want to tell her mom though. Her mom I didn't know, it was a weird situation when it came to her mom. I didn't want to have to admit that I had drunk a little too much and got fresh with some random woman that I met at a bar. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal if it wasn't for the graphic evidence about it. That changed things even if I hadn't done much more than the picture showed.
“I don't really know why she left, but as soon as I find her, you'll be the first one to know.” I promised her mother. I meant it too. I would tell her, and I asked her to do the same for me. She then said something kind of strange. She told me that she was rooting for me, whatever that meant. I asked her and she just kind of smiled. “You know Augustine. You know what you have gotten yourself into. She takes time to forgive, just give her a little time to cool off. Then, do whatever it is you did to make her fall in love with you to begin with.”
I thanked her for her advice, and I told her that I would talk to her as soon as I could. There was still a lot to be said, but I was more focused on Augustine than anything else. I needed to find her, had to find her. Nothing else was going to matter until I did.
44
Augustine
The day of court finally came, and I was nervous. This was the day that I was going to divorce Derrick if everything went well. I didn't want to, I loved him, and I probably would always love him, but maybe that was for the best. Some people just aren't meant to be together, and it was better on everyone involved if the couple could figure it out, before lasting damage was done to either person. That's where we were.
I was a little paranoid when I got to the courthouse because I was sure that I was going to see Derrick there. He was going to come out of the woodwork, and I was going to have to face him. It was something that I was quite terrified about. I didn't want to face Derrick. I wanted to quietly get this divorce done and move on with my life. I was always going to think about him, but the longer we were apart, the more my brain started to work again, and I could see how mad our relationship had been.
I heard my name being called, my case was next, and I was about to enter the courtroom when I heard a familiar voice behind me. I saw Derrick walking up and I stopped short. What was he doing here? I just wanted to walk the other way, but I knew that I had to do this. I was the one who had asked for it. Now, I had to go in there in front of my husband and tell the judge and the world that I wanted a divorce from him. It would have been a whole lot easier if I didn't have to actually look at him when I did it.
“Didn't expect me to be here, huh?”
“No, I didn't.” I couldn't believe it, honestly. How had he found out about it? I swear it was like he could read my mind, or it was pretty obvious. I finally asked him because I really wanted to know.
He told me that he had one of his assistants trying to find me and they had come across the divorce announcement in the paper. “Usually, that is used for people that have estranged husbands or wives. Considering I've been at home waiting for you, I wouldn't really say that we fit that bill.
A man came out of the courtroom and said my name again. I told him that we were coming, and Derrick wanted to talk before we got in there, but I was convinced that there was nothing to say to each other. There was a reason I had gone so far out of my way to make sure he didn't know about the divorce, because I was afraid that I would back out. The truth was I loved Derrick, and I still thought about him all the time.
I started walking and he tried to stop me. “Don't do this, Augustine. Let's work this out.”
I wanted to believe him, I wanted so badly to believe that there was a way for us to work this out. There wasn't though, but there was just too much between us. I felt like he had been forced into marrying me, tricked into it, and that's why he was already on to the next. “This is not the time for that, Derrick.”
He looked around at where we were and gestured toward the courtroom and the judge. “I don't think we're going to have another chance. Just hear me out and if you still want to divorce me, I will sign the papers. You won't get a fight out of me.”
I wanted to tell him that I didn't have to listen to him, I didn't have to play let's make a deal with him or anything else like that. I was already here to get my divorce. It was my turn. All I had to do was go up there.
