“When you get the papers, you’ll have my attorney’s contact information.”
“I won’t pay another dime of support for your daughters, not for education or living expenses,” he said.
“That would be so sad, Brad. They’re your daughters, too. Do you want them to resent you? Hate you for cutting them off?”
“I was very clear—if you divorce me, I’m done supporting any of you. You’re doing it to them, not me. You know the price you’ll pay for this is high. I’ve warned you.”
“Why?” she said imploringly. “We haven’t even shared a bedroom in years! We’re not friends! What the hell does it matter to you? I don’t delude myself that you love me! By now you’ve made it abundantly clear I mean nothing to you! On some level, you actually hate me.”
“I will if you do this. You don’t make the rules.”
“Then tell them you ended it!” she said. “Your secret is safe with me. Tell people I’m a hopeless drunk or a shoplifter or drug addict and you threw me out! Who cares? For the sake of our daughters, let’s end this amicably. Someday we’ll stare over the same baby’s head at a christening and—”
“I doubt that very much, Lauren,” he said icily. Then he went back to leafing through his mail. As though she didn’t exist.
And she left.
She had never prepared herself for the idea that he might be ready for this. Cassie wouldn’t have told him. But would she have leaked something to Lacey? Or perhaps Brad had been expecting this for a long time. He should. She’d been as compliant as was possible but when he’d pushed her into a corner, she fought back as much as she dared. He might’ve said a lot of mean things, but she hadn’t exactly been silent.
Sex came to mind. She’d always had a hard time with orgasms and it displeased him, as if she was doing it on purpose. More than once he said, “You could try a little harder, Lauren.” And more than once she’d said, “Are you sure you’re trying?” But that made him angry and when he wasn’t getting his way, he pouted or became abusive or looked for ways to punish her.
She had to see Lacey now. She hadn’t planned to see her tonight, but now she would have to. Brad would probably call his daughters. He was very good at building alliances when he needed to. So, instead of setting up some time with her oldest daughter for tomorrow evening, she called and asked if she had a little time tonight. To talk.
“We’d better talk,” Lacey said. “I hear you’ve lost your mind.”
She took a breath. “Not at all, honey. Do you have some time now? I can drive over. Or we can meet somewhere.”
“There’s no one here at the moment,” Lacey said. “Come right now and we can get this misunderstanding handled.”
CHAPTER SIX
All the way to Lacey’s apartment, Lauren’s stomach was in a knot. It was a familiar feeling. She’d spent most of the last twenty-four years with a tight stomach thanks to Brad. She was kind of amazed she hadn’t worked it into an ulcer, swallowing her feelings like she did.
Lacey lived with a roommate in a quaint little apartment in the Menlo Park area, close to Stanford. It was ridiculously expensive, very upscale, which had always been important to Lacey. But, like Cassie’s, it was solid and safe and comfortable. She wondered how Lacey would manage when she was finally on her own. She’d never really worked. She’d had token jobs that didn’t interfere with her life too much but she’d never had to struggle.
When Lauren arrived, Lacey had candles lit, though the summer sun was still up. She was sitting at her small kitchen table, drinking a glass of wine.
“Hi, honey,” she said, kissing Lacey’s cheek.
“Midlife crisis?” Lacey asked acerbically.
Lauren sat down across from her daughter. “No, Lacey. This is something that has to be done and I’m sorry to say, it’s long overdue.”
“There’s wine chilled. Help yourself if you like while we sort this out.”
“No, thanks. I don’t think there’s much to sort out. I’ve moved out. I rented a small house in Alameda.”
Lacey looked shocked beyond belief. “You didn’t go to Aunt Beth’s?”
She hesitated. How much to tell her daughters was the big question. She didn’t have any intention of persecuting Brad but neither did she want to carry the whole load. She settled on trying to get by with telling Lacey what she already knew. Or should have