panicked.
“You don’t understand, this isn’t a negotiation. It’s over. Find another horse to bet on. I’m disqualifying myself from the race.”
“I wasn’t serious about a divorce. I was just trying to frighten your mother. For your sake, as well as mine.”
“Don’t do me any favors. And I am serious. I want a real life, not this ridiculous farce of a marriage, while you calculate what you can get out of it and tell me I have no balls.”
“I was just trying to get you to stand up to your mother.” She was no fool, and she could tell that she had overplayed her hand and was trying to back down. He wouldn’t let her. He had beaten her to the door. And he knew just who and what he wanted when he got there. And she wasn’t it. Taylor was. After a month, he knew that she was the love of his life, and he wanted a life with her. And she was in it because she loved him, not for what she could get. She didn’t even know who he was. She just loved him. And he loved her and didn’t want her to get hurt.
He went upstairs and packed a bag then, and Amanda followed him upstairs.
“What are you doing?” She looked nervous. Phillip didn’t. He felt better than he had in months. Maybe years.
“I’m packing a bag. You can stay here until we decide who gets the house, or put it on the market.” He had paid for it, but he was willing to give it up. All he wanted now was out.
“You don’t have to leave, Phillip. We can work this out.”
“No, we can’t.” And then he turned to her with a dead look in his eyes. “I don’t want to. I want a divorce.” Her letter had been the last straw and the impetus he needed to leave. It told him exactly who she was. She had overnegotiated her position and given him what he needed to walk out. He zipped up his bag then and headed back down the stairs. She stood looking at him from the landing, and the one thing she hadn’t said to him was that she loved him. It hadn’t even occurred to her. And Phillip had noticed. It cleared his conscience to leave. She didn’t love him, and never had. She was incapable of it. And he had stopped loving her a long time ago. Their marriage was dead.
“Call me when you come to your senses,” Amanda called after him. She didn’t run down the stairs and beg him not to leave. A woman who loved him would have.
“Don’t hold your breath,” he said softly, and then turned to look at her for the last time as his wife. “Goodbye, Amanda.” And with that, he opened the front door and walked out, and closed it quietly behind him. The whole thing had taken half an hour. It had been bloodless. It didn’t even hurt because their marriage no longer had living roots. Everything about it was dead.
He hailed a cab then, and gave the driver the familiar address downtown. When they got there, he handed the driver a twenty-dollar bill and asked him to wait. He left his bag in the car and ran up the stairs. One of her roommates opened the door. She said Taylor was in her room, but she was still awake. He knocked on the door and let himself in. She smiled the moment she saw him. Her whole face lit up, and she jumped off her bed and put her arms around his neck.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him. She didn’t even have time to get worried. He was kissing her and pulled her close.
“I left her. We’re getting a divorce.” He was smiling when he said it, and Taylor’s eyes flew open wide.
“Just like that? What happened? I talked to you an hour ago and everything was the same.”
“She hit me over the head one time too many. She was going to blackmail my mother and give her an ultimatum. It told me everything I needed to know. Our marriage has been dead for years.” He had told her that before, but now he was sure. “We’ll talk about it later. I have a cab waiting downstairs. Pack a bag.”
“Where are we going?” She looked stunned.
“The Plaza. I moved out of the house. We can stay there for a few days, until we figure this out. Take enough stuff for