Page 100 of Fling

‘Tara . . .’ Colin begged.

‘It’s over.’

Chapter 34

THREE WEEKS LATER

Tara sat in Dr Burke’s office on a Saturday afternoon in October, waiting for her husband to arrive. She wasn’t there for a therapy session, however. Dr Burke was now their mediator, aiming to help them draw up a separation agreement. Tara had texted Colin telling him this, but he was already ten minutes late.

Tara hadn’t gone back to work since the fiasco at Al Fresco, choosing to use up her annual leave sooner than face the Lads. She had hoped she could sweep the whole thing under the rug but she quickly learned that wouldn’t be possible.

One of the onlookers who recorded Colin punching Dick had uploaded the video online and, thanks to Dick Mulligan being so publicly hated, it became an overnight viral phenomenon. Thousands of people were still sharing the video. Dick Mulligan was publicly disgraced and was forced to step down, with the Fling board of directors electing a woman to take his place as CEO. But even though he had gotten his comeuppance, Tara still felt mortified by the entire situation and she knew the Lads would have a million different jokes ready when she returned to work. She wanted to crawl under a rock and hide for the foreseeable future. It was embarrassing enough having the crowd in the restaurant watching, but now it seemed as if the whole country was laughing at her. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got at Colin.

And yet, there was a deeper part of her that wanted to forgive him. He had, after all, saved her. She hated thinking of herself as a damsel in distress, but when Dick put his hand up her dress, she was paralysed with fear. Colin had appeared just in time, like her knight in shining armour. If he hadn’t shown up, who knows what Dick might have done next. Colin had finally been the hero she needed him to be.

The problem was that Colin hadn’t shown up to the restaurant to save her, he had shown up because he thought she was having an affair. It wasn’t heroism that drove his actions. It was spite. She was torn by the question of whether it was OK to do the right thing for the wrong reason. She had kicked him out of the house and hadn’t seen him in person until now. She kept reminding herself that even before he punched Dick, he had cheated on her. And then to make a national embarrassment out of her?

No, the damage was done.

The door opened and Colin strolled in. He looked dishevelled, like he had just rolled out of bed. His beard was now fully filled in and, even though the facial hair suited him, it was due a trim. He sat down on the couch beside Tara and turned towards Dr Burke.

‘OK, let’s get this over with,’ he said, slouching back.

‘Excuse me?’ Tara said, shocked at his devil-may-care attitude. ‘This is a very important meeting.’

‘Well, I don’t see how meditation is supposed to help our marriage. You know I hate yoga,’ Colin said, folding his arms.

‘It’s marriage mediation, not meditation, you dope! We’re here to organize a separation agreement,’ Tara replied.

‘Your text said marriage meditation,’ Colin said. He took out his phone and opened the message. He shoved his phone in front of her face and she could see that he was right, she had misspelled the word. Tara was silently furious she had made a typo.

‘Well, my phone must have auto-corrected, Colin. You should have known it was mediation after everything that’s happened!’ she said.

‘Hold on, so we’re getting divorced?’ Colin said, genuinely shocked.

‘No, we’re separating. Divorces take a long time.’

‘Do I need a solicitor? You’ve completely blindsided me with this. I didn’t prepare anything.’

‘That’s why we have Dr Burke as a mediator. To help us agree on everything.’

‘And we couldn’t have found a cheaper one?’ Colin said, throwing his hands in the air. ‘She charged us three hundred euro to tell us to re-watch our wedding video.’

‘That strategy usually works for couples,’ Dr Burke shrugged.

‘I guess nostalgia ain’t what it used to be,’ Colin muttered. ‘Is she even qualified to be a mediator?’

‘Dr Burke, I apologize for him,’ Tara said. ‘Actually no! I no longer have to apologize for him. Because he’s no longer my problem.’

‘Hallelujah!’ Colin rejoiced.

‘That’s OK, Tara,’ Dr Burke said calmly. ‘Colin, to put your mind at ease, I have ten years’ experience as a licensed mediator and I am authorized to draw up legally binding separation agreements on behalf of my clients. Mediation is designed to help couples negotiate their own separation terms while making sure everyone’s needs are met. It’s a long process; we could be here for a few hours.’

‘Jesus, I think I actually would have preferred yoga,’ Colin sighed.

‘You know, Colin, you have a lot of nerve to be cracking jokes after the stunt you pulled. You practically derailed my entire career!’ Tara snapped.

‘Oh please, I made a simple mistake.’

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