Chapter 5 THE GRANDFATHER CLOCK 2

"Fuck you and your god-damned spawn of a daughter!" Flora hissed, the word 'daughter' grating on her nerves like nails on a chalkboard. Her husband had a daughter; a child that should have come from her. "You think I want to hear about your brat?! I don't give a damn if she's the fucking Virgin Mary! I won't be a stepmother to a child that you got by sneaking around with a whore!"

"Flora-"

"How much of a whore does a woman have to be to sneak around with a married man? And she's raising your daughter, so guess what – she's going to grow up to be a whore just like her bitch of a mama!"

"That's enough Flora," Richard warned.

"Oh it's not enough by a long shot," Flora said, her fury regaining strength like a hurricane over warm water. "And don't you think for one god damn second that I'm going to pay you alimony, child support or anything else. You fucked your way out of this marriage, so you can go to the bitch and her spawn with exactly what you have!" Flora huffed, the very thought of her hard-earned money going to support his new family – a family they should have been starting – made her blood boil.

"Stop it Flora!" Richard warned. "Keep my daughter out of this," he said, his nostrils flaring.

Flora felt a distinct sense of satisfaction in her stomach. She tasted blood and she wanted more. She wanted him to keel over in pain like she felt she was going to do at any moment.

"Oh so it can get angry," Flora sneered. "Too bad you couldn't muster up enough anger at your sorry ass self to keep your dick in your pants and not plant your seed in a woman who's not your wife! Now you come in here, thinking you're gonna explain shit away all easy and sweet talk me into working things out. You must really think I'm some kind of newfangled fool. Did you really think I was gonna welcome the child with open arms? Be one big, happy family? Forgive you and play step-mommy and move on like nothing happened? Well you got the wrong one mister. There is nothing you can say to fix this. Nothing! The only thing I want from you Richard Michaels is a divorce! And the sooner, the better."

Richard flinched as if he'd been hit.

Flora saw the look, realizing she'd hit paydirt with the 'D' word, which is just what she wanted.

"I know you're hurt right now Flora, but you can't mean that. I love you and I know you love me. Let's let things calm down before making any final decisions. We owe each other that," Richard said,.

He had known in his mind divorce was a possibility, but he never thought it would actually come to pass. He'd loved Flora for almost twenty years, over half his life and hers. He couldn't imagine life without her; without her as his wife.

"I don't owe you a god damn thing Richard Michaels. Nothing. When you laid down with another woman, you forfeited any loyalty I had to you. I'm done. I don't want to talk about this anymore. And the sound of your voice is making me sick. The sight of you is making me sick. I don't even want to breathe the same air as you. Get out!" Flora demanded, all of her emotions spent. She felt like a rung out dishrag, her anger ebbing away, leaving an open, raw wound. It was almost too much to bear.

"Flora please, just list-"

"Get out!" Flora screamed, cutting him off. "Get out! Get out now!"

Richard stared at her for a few seconds before he turned on his heel. She heard his keys jingle when he grabbed them off the hall table and the door of their condo shut behind him.

Flora sank to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Today was supposed to be one of the most momentous days of her life. She'd finally made partner. Seven long years of mind-bending work had come to fruition. Right now, she was supposed to be celebrating with the one person who'd bought into her dream from day one. The one who'd told her she could do it and had been right there through college, through law school, through being recruited by one of the most prestigious firms in New York. Through the long hours and self doubt, wondering if she could make it in the mostly male, mostly white world of corporate law.

Right about now, she should be laughing at how god-awful the food tasted because of how bad Richard 's cooking was. It was him. It was them. They should have been celebrating their love. Their sacrifice. Their achieving a life milestone that they'd talked about since the day they met. They were financially secure. They, nor their future children, would never have to struggle. They had put poverty behind them – the first in their families to do so. And now, it was finally time to start on those future children. That was the next box on the list to check. But now that was all part of her previous life. How can you go from present to previous so fast, she wondered, as the salt of her tears began to make her cheeks itch.

Flora ran down the list of things that came after the 'starting a family' box that was supposed to be checked.

Buying a house in the suburbs.

Starting college funds.

Buying a vacation home for retirement.

Babysitting grandchildren.

Now the list was meaningless because everything on it depended on the one box she wouldn't be able to check: having a child. It wouldn't happen with Richard . And it may never happen for her because she could never imagine checking that particular box with anyone else.

All those years of planning. All those boxes now unchecked. Now where was she? Who was she?

Flora thought of the future – a future she had no idea how to navigate because it didn't include the one person she'd always imagined being there. She couldn't imagine life without Richard . And, she couldn't imagine overcoming this kind of betrayal either.

Flora dropped her head on her knees and sobbed.

What was she going to do?