Page 47 of The One I Want
The last one gives me pause, but I don’t have a chance to think about it as I see my lawyer getting out of his car. I shut mine off, grab my suit jacket from the back seat, and start making my way inside. Just as I approach the front of the building, bleached blonde hair that you can see from a mile away grabs my attention.
I turn to see Cara, who I can now only recognize because of her hair. She was always blonde, but as the years went along, it became lighter and lighter to where it’s now almost white. The biggest shock to me is how thin she is. Cara was never traditionally skinny. Her curves were there in college and only became more pronounced after the kids. I tried to tell her over and over throughout the years how much I loved her body. And it wasn’t a lie. But now? She has to have dropped at least fifty pounds.
“Wes,” she says, her oversized sunglasses still on her face.
“Cara,” I say, holding the door open for her. Both of our lawyers walk through as we follow silently and get on the elevators.
I take another look at her. The clothing doesn’t shock me. I knew she’d come in wearing her most expensive dress, while simultaneously asking me for a shit ton of money. Which, shocking no one, is the only thing left we have to hash out today. Once that’s finalized, we’re each going to sign and this is going to be over.
We all exit the elevator as it opens, and just as I’m about to pass through, Cara stops me.
“What?”
She takes the sunglasses off her face. I have to school myself not to recoil when I see dark circles around her eyes.
“I was just going to say that you look good.”
What is her game? Is she fishing for a compliment? From me? The man she left?
“I don’t think it’s a good idea if we talk.”
She looks at me like I’m crazy. “Why are you being like this?”
“Being like what?”
“Short. Abrupt. That’s not like you.”
I laugh, because I can’t believe her right now. “Are you serious? You’re going to be the one talking about how I’ve changed?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I don’t know you, Cara. Maybe I never did. But the woman I married, who I thought I married, wouldn’t have decided to spring a divorce on me. She wouldn’t have just up and moved without warning. And she definitely wouldn’t have abandoned her kids. So you know what? Think I’m being short, or mean, or rude? Fine. Because however I act is nothing like how you have.”
She looks at me in disbelief. Again, I don’t know why. If she really doesn’t think she’s acted like this, maybe she’s more delusional than I thought.
“I told you I wanted something new. I wanted a chance to not be a mother and a wife.”
I nod. “You did. And you're getting it. Now let’s get this over with. That way we can both get what we want.”
* * *
“I needboth of you to sign here.”
I hurriedly scribble my signature for what feels like for the fiftieth time today. But it’s the last one.
I’m now divorced.
“And that should do it,” the mediator says. “We’ll make sure to get these filed.”
I look up at Cara, who is nothing short of pissed off about how today went. She thought she was walking out of here set for life. If she wanted that, she should have divorced me years ago, not the year before my ten million a year salary was about to end.
We had already agreed before today to sell and split the assets—the house and everything in it. The only thing I took to the new house was stuff the kids wanted. Even she wasn’t going to fight that. I asked to keep the SUV, but we agreed to sell the sports car.
Then it came to custody and alimony, which is where Cara didn’t see what was about to hit her.
She said she only wanted one month a summer and a visit around Christmas based on the kids’ school schedules. Her reasoning being that she wanted to see the kids, but also wanted to live on the west coast, and any more visitations wouldn’t be feasible. Though, I have a feeling her lawyer told her to say that.
Because of her visitation demands, I was granted sole physical custody. Which then meant I didn’t have to pay child support.
