Page 224 of Unhinged

“Oh. Well, I wanted to hear your voice.”

“You’re checking in on me. I told you a hundred times I’m fine. In fact, as of today, I’m a single man, ready for action.” I laugh again. “Who am I kidding? It’ll be business as usual—closed for repairs.”

“Single? Seriously? Now?”

“Why is that a bad thing? We want this done and over with. It was a mistake to do it.”

“Yeah, but then you also don’t get your half of her father’s money.”

“I started broke. I’m ending broke. Doesn’t mean shit to me.”

“Then why did you really marry her, Rod?”

“I returned the favor.”

“But marriage? Do you think you two can still be friends?”

I try for nonchalance but go straight to hell with dynamite. “Were we ever really friends?”

“That’s what I was wondering.” Hadley laughs, and I bite my lip, wishing I had chugged a bottle of bleach like Cousin Pervis did to kill the flu. Flu: one. Pervis: zero. Sadly, I think he did it because he couldn’t live with his nickname of Perv anymore.

I clear my throat and try to be casual. “Is she still in Richmond?”

“Yes. She’s finishing her internship here, and after graduation, she’s heading back to Delaware. This weekend, we’re all going there to visit Finn and Simone’s mom for her birthday. Though, Simone insists on driving separately, which is weird. I think she doesn’t want to be in our car that long and have to talk to us. Whenever Finn asks her anything about you, she changes the subject.”

“She can’t scare away the new recruits.”

“When Simone visits us, she doesn’t say much and isn’t acting like herself.”

“For the sake of humanity.” I squeeze my eyes shut, struggling with love and hate again. How in the fuck did I get it so wrong twice with Simone?

“Greg, come on. She’s never this quiet. She puts on a show of smiling and talking to Finley, but her eyes are so sad. I know she had a crush on you. Maybe she’s regretting ending your marriage, wishing it had been real.” It was as real as my fucking heartbreak.

“I doubt it. She probably broke one of her purses. I bet she’s happy to be rid of me.” My laughter is stilted, and I sound like The Joker rubbing one out minus lube. Not wanting to hear more speculation about Simone regretting anything, I say, “I gotta go to work.”

“Okay. I hope you have a good night and feel better.”

“I’m not sick.”

“Not physically. But I hear sadness in your voice too.”

“It’s indigestion.”

“Fake or not, good or bad, ending a marriage has to rattle a person.”

“Like I said, I’m doing great. I’m free to date without having a disclaimer or a weighted brick tied to my ankle. Anyway, thanks for calling, Hadders.”

“I know you haven’t heard from Val since she thinks your birthday is in September, but she’d wish you a happy one.”

I smile. “Yeah. I know.”

“I hope you come back to Richmond and visit us at the office sometime. We need to talk in person.”

“I’ll think about it. Later.” Many years about it.

After ending the call, Eden’s diary catches my eye. I haven’t read it in a while and need a reality check to put my jumbled misery into perspective. I pick it up and flip to the last page I read.

Dear Gregster,

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