Life After Perfect (5 page)

He could have his little mistress. More power to him. She probably didn’t even have a job. Little Twinkie. No. Ho Ho. Yeah, that was more like it. She hoped the girl drained him for every penny he’d ever saved. It would serve him right. What kind of woman slept with another woman’s husband?

The lowest of low.

Katherine didn’t know her next step, but did know that she needed time. Time to figure it all out. This was the kind of problem that required a plan.

Without a second thought, she dialed her boss.

“Didn’t you just leave out of here?” Dave Harris asked.

“Not too long ago. I had something come up. A family emergency.”

“Everything okay?”

“Not really. I’m on the road, heading out of town. I need to take a leave of absence. I’m sorry it’s such short notice. I need at least a month. I can explain later if you need—”

“No explanations necessary, unless you just need the ear.”

“No. I can’t talk about it yet.”

“Katherine, you take care of your family. That’s the most important thing. We’ll cover things here.”

“I might need the whole ninety days.” It was one of the benefits, although it was rare anyone ever took advantage of it, especially since it was without pay.

“We can cross that bridge when we get to it. Do what you need to do. Touch base with me later.”

“My laptop is locked in my desk if you need to secure it.”

“Good, that will save you the trouble of mailing it in while you’re on leave.”

“Thank you so much, Dave.” Katherine knew she was lucky to work for him. Some people wouldn’t have a benefit like this so easily initiated, even if most companies dangled it as one.

“Is there anything I can do?”

He was always so supportive. Not just a coworker, but right up there on the friend list. He’d be shocked when he found out. Or maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe it was a man’s code or something. “No. Nothing anyone can do. Time’s what I need right now.” That wasn’t entirely untrue.

“Make it be on your side then, gal.”

“Thanks.” She hung up the phone and closed her eyes. One five-minute phone call and she had a leave of absence.
That was almost too easy.

She put her car in drive and navigated the tight curves toward the garage exit. At the crossarm, she took her credit card from her wallet. Just as she was ready to swipe the card in the machine, she hesitated, and then switched it out for Ron’s. She never used his credit card. They had each other’s cards, just in case, but they’d just always settled their own spending. Not today. No sir.

If Ron had any doubts that it had been she who left that four-letter message on his desk, in case multiple women were competing for his affection (the thought!), the twelve-dollar parking fee on his credit card would solve that little puzzle for him pretty quick.

“Thank you very much,” she sneered.

Cars packed her in on all sides, but at least traffic was moving. She drove in silence. Twice she picked up her phone to call Shaleigh, but then decided she just wasn’t up to discussing things with anyone, not even her lawyer, yet.

When she pulled into her driveway, she didn’t bother putting her car in the garage. Partly because it always drove Ron crazy when she didn’t, and partly because she wasn’t sure she planned to stay. She stared at the house. It wasn’t a home anymore. He’d just ruined that.

She switched off the ignition and sat there.

Just this morning she’d wanted nothing more than to spend more time with her husband and strengthen their bond. Maybe start that family.

If anyone had asked her this morning, she’d have sworn on her life that she’d have a forty-
plus
-year marriage like Bertie and Donald’s. They’d always seemed so happy, but then even they had secrets.

And now . . . it was making her physically ill to even think about seeing her husband’s face one more time. She’d always sworn she wouldn’t have a marriage like her own mom and dad. They never talked about anything. Nope, they just complained about each other to everyone. She’d always thought if there was any kind of problem, she and Ron would be able to talk about it, and solve it. But then she hadn’t even realized there was a problem, had she? Had she been too busy to even notice?

Katherine sat in the driveway for so long she began to sweat. On a hotter day, she could have suffocated in the car. Wouldn’t that have been a surprise for Ron when he got home? No, she wasn’t the type to go wallowing in self-pity. Lock
his
ass in the car to suffocate? Maybe.

She pulled herself together and got out. As she walked up the sidewalk, she heard Peggy calling her name as she made her way across the yard.

“I was beginning to think you’d passed out in your car,” she said.

Peggy must have seen her drive up. She looked better than she had yesterday afternoon. Today she wore a crisp white blouse and lots of silver jewelry. “How are you doing?”

“Good. Tucker got his papers this morning.” Her wrists jingled from the row of bracelets. “Lord, he hit the roof. Movers left like twenty minutes ago with all of his stuff. That was a weird feeling. To watch someone pack up your husband’s stuff. I mean it’s not like he’s dead. Or maybe he should be. I mean not dead-dead. Dead to me. Wait . . .” She reached for Katherine’s hand. “Are you okay?”

A choked cry escaped from her. And that was it. She hadn’t cried when she caught Ron. Hadn’t cried when she scribbled the message on his desk. Hadn’t broken down all the way home, but one look into Peggy’s eyes and she’d lost all of her restraint, and she couldn’t even catch her breath to explain.

“Oh, my goodness. Katherine? I’m so sorry. I was just rambling. All about me. I didn’t even notice. What is going on?”

Katherine folded to a heap on the front porch.

“Did something happen to Ron? Oh, God. He’s not dead, is he? You know how I’m always saying things like that. Has something happened to him?”

Katherine let out a halfhearted laugh through her tears. Oh, something had happened to Ron all right, was happening pretty frequently to him, too. But not like Peggy was thinking.

“Let’s get you inside,” Peggy said.

“I can’t.” Katherine shook her head and clenched her keys tighter in her hand. She couldn’t go inside. There was nothing in there she needed. Nothing but more lies. She leaned forward on her knees and cried.

Peggy sat down next to her and rubbed a hand along her back. “Honey. What’s wrong?”

“I’m so sorry. You’re going through all of this stuff, too. It’s not fair. I’m so sorry about Tucker.”

“Oh, Katherine, you’re more upset than I am. Honey, don’t do this to yourself. I’m going to be fine. Yes, he’s going to be a big fat pain in the ass about it. Already conjured up a lawyer to do battle with me, but I’m not the least bit worried. And no matter what he does or how long he drags it out, it’s going to be on his dime.” She grabbed Katherine’s hand. “It’s okay, honey.”

“No. It’s not.” Katherine ran a hand across her face.

“Let me at least go in and get you some tissues.”

Katherine handed over the keys and Peggy went inside.

By the time Peggy came out with a glass of water and a box of tissues, Katherine had pulled herself somewhat together. “I’m sorry, Peggy.”

“Don’t be. We’re friends. Now what in the heck has you so upset?”

Katherine tugged two tissues from the box, and then squeezed them into her hand. “Peggy, I saw Ron with another woman today.”

Peggy’s lips pulled into a tight line. She shook her head, then tilted it slightly as her eyes softened in response.

Katherine hated to ask, but she had to. “Did you know?”

Peggy lowered her chin. “No, honey. I didn’t know. Ron isn’t Tucker. I’m sure Ron was very discreet. Are you sure what you saw was . . . you know.”

She nodded. “No question about it.” She pulled her phone out and scrolled to the picture of Ron kissing the woman. “Right in the street.” She shoved the phone into Peggy’s hands.

Her friend took a long look at the picture, even zoomed in, and then dropped her hands to her lap. “No way to really wiggle out of that one.” The redhead tilted the phone to the left. “You don’t even do CPR in that position.”

Katherine took the phone back. She took one more look at the picture, resulting in a groan, and then pressed the power button. Even the red slide to power off prompt annoyed her right now.

“Maybe you can work things out. Couples do it all the time. You know middle-age craziness and all that.”

She flashed Peggy a look. “Seriously? I could never forgive this.”

“Me either. I just wanted you to consider it.” Peggy wiggled her toes, the nails bright orange, in her sandals. “What are you going to do?”

“I’d like to run away.”

“Then do it.” Peggy leaned her head on Katherine’s shoulder. “You have a career and you can take care of yourself. Trust me: I’ll be in an ugly, nasty fight with Tucker for months, maybe years, over all of this. He’s going to nickel-and-dime me to death. You don’t have to go through it. If I were in your shoes, my ass would be in that cute little sports car and I’d be halfway to somewhere else by now.” She wiggled her toes again. “Well, right after I got a nice new pedi to match the car. I wouldn’t want to clash.” She laughed and nudged Katherine. “Come on, honey. Giggle a little. We have to stay positive. Somehow.”

“Really? You’d up and run away?”

“Yeah. Really. I mean, call Shaleigh and let her do all the legal stuff, but you don’t need to put yourself through all of this. Can’t you work from anywhere? With all the travel you do for work, I’d suspect so.”

“I can, but I actually called my boss right after everything went down and asked for a leave of absence.”

“Oh, girl. You are crazy if you don’t get out of here right now. What’s stopping you?”

“I don’t know.”

Peggy stood up. “Come on. If you’re one-hundred-percent sure you don’t want to consider forgiving him . . . then leave.”

Could she really do that? Did she want him to come home and grovel and swear his allegiance on their relationship? Well, yeah. But would she ever believe him again? No. “I’m leaving.”

“Good. Let’s go pack your stuff. You can be out of here, and licking your wounds in a super-nice suite with room service, before Ron ever gets home tonight.”

Katherine sniffed back the tears, and stood . . . ready to forge ahead. “You’re right. I don’t want an apology. I don’t want to hear an excuse, or have him turn this around to be my fault. What’s done is done.”

Chapter Five

“Come on.” Peggy hopped up and opened the front door.

Katherine paused in the foyer. Like she was a visitor in her own house. She turned to her friend. “Peggy? I’m so sorry I never told you about Tucker crossing lines with women. I mean I never knew he actually did anything, but all the wives complained about the way he was overly friendly, and not one of us did anything to stop him. I’m so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?”

“I know,” she said quietly. “It’s funny how crisp and clear hindsight became once I knew the truth. I wouldn’t wish it on my best friend. I’m sorry you were put in that position with Tucker. I’m sorry you’re going through this too. I wouldn’t wish this kind of betrayal on anyone.”

But Katherine had to wonder if it was some kind of karma retaliation. If she’d been a better friend. If she’d kneed that son of a gun Tucker Allen right in the family jewels and told Peggy, maybe her own situation would be different. Something she’d never know now.

Katherine looked around her home in a new light. It was funny how one teensy thing could change everything. Well, it wasn’t really all that little. When it came to lies, this wasn’t an itty-bitty one.

The pictures of their happy moments sat on the mantel and tables, and now they looked like the ones that came in the frames when you buy them. Like a good-looking couple you don’t know who needs to be replaced with real people.

“You and I don’t deserve this,” Katherine said.

“You’re right.” Peggy took both of Katherine’s hands in her own. “Don’t forget that. We deserve better. Trust me, there will be days when you’ll find yourself searching for what you did wrong. This is their problem. Their shortcoming. Not ours.”

“Easy to say.” Katherine sucked in a deep breath. After all, if she’d been enough, been perfect, would he have ever needed to stray? She could have stroked his ego more. It was probably hard on a he-man’s ego to have his wife make more money. Not that they ever talked about it. “You’re right. It’s going to be hard to not blame myself.”

“But don’t. Promise me,” Peggy said.

Katherine wasn’t about to make that promise. She’d just be a liar if she did.

She scanned the room. How do you pack just a few things? Memories, treasures, pieces of her whole life were in this house. “How do I even figure out what I need?” She walked past so many things that held importance it was hard not to want to scoop up every little memory and take it with her. But then she’d need a moving van, maybe two, and there’d be time to come back for that stuff. Right now, she just needed space. “I guess this is like ‘what do you grab in a fire drill?’ Only the critical stuff.”

Katherine stood at the base of the stairs and clutched the handrail. Had he ever had that woman here, in their bed? While she was traveling? Opportunity. She’d certainly given him plenty of that, if not reason. She lifted a heavy leg to the first step on the stairway and then trudged upstairs.

Peggy followed and helped Katherine fill her wheeled travel bag with casual wear and underclothes; then she took to the bathroom and grabbed the makeup and personal items Katherine might need.

“Just a minute,” Katherine said as she eased past Peggy into the bathroom. She looked around: her favorite perfumes and the embroidered hand towel her grandmother had made for her as a wedding gift were on the counter. She touched the worn fabric. It was hard to leave anything behind. Her attention settled on Ron’s toothbrush.

Peggy stepped behind her.

“He has the best smile,” Katherine said, tears welling at the conflicting emotions coursing through her. “Damn him.”

Peggy snatched the toothbrush from the holder. “Do you have any white vinegar?”

“Yeah. In the kitchen. Why?”

“Come on.” Peggy raced down the stairs and Katherine followed her. “Get me that white vinegar.” Peggy grabbed a coffee cup from the sink drainer and stood at the ready. Toothbrush in one hand, coffee mug in the other.

Katherine slammed through two cabinets and then walked over to Peggy with the vinegar. “What are we doing?”

Peggy tossed the toothbrush tip down into the mug and then glugged out enough vinegar to cover the whole head of the toothbrush. As she swished the tight blue and white bristles through the vinegar, the smell wafted in the air. “It’s harmless. I promise, but toothpaste reacts to this vinegar and it will put a taste in his mouth that he is not going to forget for a long haul.”

Katherine smiled. “Really?”

“Oh, honey. The worst. We used to do this all the time at summer camp. It’s a little evil but so worth the price of a cheap bottle of vinegar.”

“And a perfect comeuppance for that tooth-obsessed husband of mine. Did I tell you that the woman had teeth so white it looked like they were painted?”

“Don’t think about her.” Peggy swished the toothbrush again. “Too bad we don’t have her toothbrush!” She lifted the toothbrush out and carried it like the Olympic torch up the stairs with Katherine at her heels. She set it back in the holder and they both stepped back with a satisfied grin.

“Sometimes you just have to have a little win,” Peggy said.

Katherine reached under the counter and took his teeth whitening kit. “May as well make that two.” She shoved the whitening kit into her bag. “I can’t do this. Whatever I’ve got, I’ve got. I’ll be back,” Katherine said, because if she didn’t leave now, she’d never be able to.

“No. Not by a long shot. You need to grab all of your personal documents. The last bank statements, titles, all the important papers. Better to have them with you than to trust he’ll produce them.”

“We have them in a safe downstairs.”

“Leave the safe. Take the papers. He probably won’t even realize they’re gone for a while and that will play in your favor.”

“How do you know all of this stuff?”

“Shaleigh has been taking me through these paces for weeks. I paid for this advice. I’m giving it to you for free.”

They took the suitcase downstairs and Katherine grabbed another tote bag from the hall closet and went into the office and filled it with the papers.

“I’d move half the money today, and anything you don’t have, just buy. On his credit card. Not yours,” Peggy said.

“Not sure I would really do that.” Although she had put her parking on his card, but that was twelve bucks . . . and a statement.

“Do it. Trust me, if he turns into a jerk you’ll be happy, and if not you can always pay the bill.”

“Good point.” She pulled the zipper closed on her bag. “Thanks for everything. I’ll call and check on you. You’ll call me if you need to talk.”

“I will. We’re both going to be okay.”

Katherine gave the place a look around.

“It’s just stuff,” Peggy said. “I wish I’d been able to do what you’re doing. I’m so envious of you right this minute. No arguing. No bickering or name-calling.” Peggy hugged Katherine. “Call me. Anytime. Day or night. And if you need to come back, you can stay with me. Although I guess it could be a little awkward being right next door.” Peggy took the tote bag and slung it over her shoulder.

“True. Thank you so much for being here today.” She grabbed her laptop bag, balanced it on top of the wheeled bag, and headed to the car with Peggy at her side. She put her suitcase and laptop bag in the trunk. Peggy tucked the tote next to Katherine’s suitcase, and slammed the trunk closed.

Peggy dipped her hand into the back pocket of her capri jeans, and pulled out a tiny bow made from a thin, soft yellow ribbon. She handed it to Katherine.

“What’s this?”

“For good luck,” Peggy explained. “When I first found out about Tucker, I went to an infidelity support group.”

“There’s a support group for that?”

“Yeah. I didn’t stick it out, but one lady, the one who gave me that ribbon . . . she had some good advice.”

“I can’t take it then,” Katherine said handing it back.

“You sure can.” She pushed Katherine’s hand back. “I heard the message firsthand. I want to share it with you. You tuck that in your pocket, just like she told me to.”

“Okay. I like the yellow,” she said giving it one last glance before putting it in her pocket.

“The woman said yellow is the color of hope and optimism.”

“And caution,” Katherine said, immediately regretting the snark in her voice.

“Can’t argue that, but you’re going to struggle with what’s happened. There’ll be good days and bad days. You’re going to want to know why it happened, and you’ll probably blame yourself. Don’t. Trust me, I’m just ahead of you on this path. It’s hard. It strips you of your confidence some days, and makes you as angry as a hornet on others. Neither is good. Cheaters cheat. They are broken. You are not.”

“Thanks, Peggy.”

“You go out and find the life you were meant to have. And anytime you doubt that you can keep moving forward, you pull out this ribbon as a reminder that there’s hope for something better.”

“Thank you, Peggy. I’ll keep that in mind.” Katherine took the ribbon back out of her pocket. “That’s a lot of responsibility for one little piece of ribbon.” She always joked when she was upset. It was an awful coping mechanism, but Peggy meant well, and she didn’t have any better plans, so she held the ribbon in her fist and clutched it to her heart for a long moment.

“Seriously. I don’t ever want to feel this way again. Thank you for sharing this with me.” At that she tucked that ribbon into her front pocket and got into her car.

She waved to Peggy, and then headed down the street, not allowing herself to glance back even once. There would be no looking back from now on.

A few miles up the road, Katherine pulled into the parking lot of the bank branch nearest to her house with only a few minutes to spare before closing time. At least it wasn’t the bank she worked for. She worked at the corporate office of one of the biggest banks in the nation. No, Ron had been adamant about keeping their funds in this small local bank because he had hopes of being on the board of it one day. That and he sure liked being the big fish in the little pond. His dad had been on the board of their hometown bank and he’d do anything to match or better his dad.

She glanced at her watch. The tellers were going to want to kill her for showing up at the last minute on a Friday night, but it was better to get this transaction done while she had the gumption to do so.

She clutched the scrap of paper with the magic number on it, praying they hadn’t already locked the doors.

“How are you today, Mrs. Barclift?” the branch manager said, recognizing her as soon as she walked in. If the late entrance frustrated him, he didn’t show it.

He didn’t seem to notice her strained smile either. “Great. Things are great. I need to make a withdrawal from our savings today. Something special is going on.” She let out what she hoped sounded like a playful titter of excitement.

“Come with me. I can help you with that.”

Katherine had probably contributed sixty-five percent of the balance in their savings account, but Ron had paid for the vacations, so it would even out. Probably more in his favor, but she didn’t want one penny of his. She didn’t even want to breathe the same air that he did.

She followed the branch manager into his office. The desk was piled with stacks of papers. A bookcase in the corner couldn’t have had more than a dozen books, but it was filled with family pictures. There was one of him with his wife. Him with his kids. The whole family. Him with the dog. Him with his boat. Every single picture included him. The whole world must seem to revolve around him.

She’d been in the very chair she was sitting in dozens of times. Why hadn’t she noticed this about the photos before? All she’d ever noticed was that he seemed to have a really happy and busy family.

At least this guy had pictures of his wife in his office. She’d disappeared from Ron’s. How long ago had he done that? She couldn’t quite remember the last time she was actually there.

She tugged the corners of her mouth into another smile. Not fair to judge everyone based on the behavior of a few.

“I need this amount.” She pushed the paper across the desk.

“Cashier’s check okay?”

“Just fine.”

“Who should we make it out to?”

“To me.” He looked curious, but she wasn’t about to start offering up a story. He’d know she was lying anyway. “Easiest that way.”

He plucked away on his keyboard, and then got up from his desk and went to the cashier’s window. A few minutes later he came back with the check in his hand.

With the cashier’s check in an envelope, Katherine got back in her car. She tucked the envelope into the owner’s manual in her glove compartment and locked it.

While she’d been waiting for the branch manager to get her check, Katherine had decided she’d head north. Might as well. It was June and the south was only going to get hotter by the minute. She’d head up toward Charlotte. She knew that route like the back of her hand from going there for work so often and trips to see her parents. It would be an easy drive and she knew she could grab a room and make the rest of her plan from there.

For now, all she had to do was drive.

She wondered how long it would take Ron to notice she was gone. Did he even know that she knew? If he’d been to the office, he might not come home at all.

“I’ll probably be late tonight,” he’d said.

Then, “You know how these things are, babe.”

No. She didn’t know what it was like to go out of your way to cheat on and betray someone. And she never wanted to.

She headed north, making good time compared to the heavier traffic in the opposite direction. She rolled down her window and let the wind blow through the car; it was warm, but less confining.

An hour in, she took an exit to grab a Diet Coke from a drive-thru. After she placed her order, she thumbed through the old emails on her phone until she found the one she needed.

She pushed speed dial to call the cell phone of the only person who needed to know what was going on. Shaleigh.

The phone rang, but it went directly to voice mail.

“Hey, gal. It’s me. I guess there’s something in the water around here. I need your professional services. I want the fastest divorce you can serve up. I don’t want the house. I don’t want half of his anything, just what’s got my name on it. I just withdrew half of all of our savings. God, this sucks. Call me and let me know what you’ll need from me. I’ll be on the road. Use my cell.”