8
Tuesday morning Charisse chatted on the phone with her mother. The kids were in school and she was at home alone taking care of a few chores. She spent much of the morning walking the property and talking to her yard guy about ideas for sprucing up the lawn and planting flowers near the gazebo or working on a full-scale landscape design project.
Her home was a secluded estate on a multi-acre wooded lot without any neighbors nearby. She loved coming up with new ideas to improve the property, like when she hired contractors to redo the driveway with cobblestone or build a sunroom onto the back.
So far she’d been fortunate with Terrence’s generosity, but their relationship had chilled considerably, so she needed to be more judicious about how much she spent on sprucing up the yard. Under normal circumstances, he gave her carte blanche to do whatever she wanted, but this time she’d have to take the money out of her own limited budget and might not be able to spend as much.
Back when they divorced, he promised to always take care of her and said she didn’t have to work, but she never completely accepted that idea. He took care of hernow, but one day he would remarry, and his new wife would not like that he was still taking care of his ex. With that in mind, she took a percentage of the spousal support he gave her every month and turned it over to a financial planner so she’d have retirement income in her old age. She couldn’t honestly expect Terrence to finance her lifestyle indefinitely, no matter what he said.
Excited about the work in the yard, she called her mother to run some of her ideas by her. During the course of their conversation, her mother mentioned that a new bachelor moved into the assisted living community where she resided, and he played bridge with them last week. Martha thought he’d been a bit flirtatious with her and considered inviting him to tea one afternoon, but was hesitant.
“Mom, you need to go ahead and live your life. Isn’t that what you told me after my divorce? Dad’s been gone for a while.”
She set a bowl of cat food on the floor and Simba trotted over and started eating.
“I know, but he’s so classy and refined,” her mother said.
Charisse walked into the laundry room. “And what are you, chopped liver? You’re pretty, educated, funny, and make a mean tuna casserole. That man would be lucky to have you.”
Her mother giggled. “Well, we’ll see how everything goes. The group is playing bridge together again on Friday. If he’s there, I’ll see if I have the same impression that he’s interested, and I’ll know what to do then.”
“I say go for it. Flirt back.”
Her mother laughed again. She hoped her mother did take the leap. She lived a fulfilling life with the other seniors at the community, but Charisse suspected she wouldn’t mind finding another life partner.
The doorbell chimed.
“That’s the cleaning service. Gotta run. Call me Friday night and let me know how bridge went with Mr. Casanova. And you better tell me you asked him to tea, or I’m coming down there to invite him for you.”
“You’re silly, but I will. I’ll ask him.”
Charisse dropped the clothes she’d been sorting and went back into the kitchen to check the monitor. The cleaning service used a code to get onto the property, and the maids came once a week to deep clean the house, concentrating on bathrooms and high-traffic common areas like the family room.
She set the phone in the cradle on the counter, but when she looked at the monitor, she didn’t see the three women who normally came. Terrence stood on the stoop outside, hands braced on the doorframe, head bowed so she only saw the top of his head.
Should she pretend not to be at home?
After their confrontation, she didn’t want to talk to him and did a good job of avoiding him so far. Actually, he avoided her, too.
When he called to speak to the children, she and he didn’t talk to each other. The other night, he took them to dinner and a movie. Instead of picking them up like he usually did and coming in to chat for a bit, he sent a car.
If the children noticed the way their parents were behaving, they didn’t say a word. She and Terrence would eventually have to sort through this impasse in their own way, but today was not that day.
She hit the intercom button. “Terrence, what do you want? I’m busy right now.”
“Charisse, open the door. I need to talk to you. Please.”
She didn’t want to hear anymore of his jealous ranting. “Not today. I have a million things to do, and I’m not in the mood to argue.”
He lifted his head and stared straight into the camera’s lens. The hollowed out expression in his eyes startled her.
“Please open the door. I’m trying real hard not to use my key.”
Worried by what she saw on the screen, Charisse rushed to the front door and swung it open. She stared at her ex. His eyes were red and damp around the edges. He’d obviously been crying.
“What’s wrong?” Fear throbbed in her chest. She’d never seen Terrence look like this. He appeared beaten down, defeated.
“Grandma Esther had another stroke and passed away last night. Her caretaker called me this morning.” Saying the words brought fresh tears to his eyes.
