“What about London?”

“That’s where it can get tricky. The courts retain the right to make decisions regarding custody, visitation, and child support. Now, the two of you can come to an agreement and the court will take that into account, but they’re not bound by it. If it’s reasonable, though, the court will usually go along with what the two of you decide. Because London is so young, she won’t have much of a say at all. That’s probably for the best.”

I suspected he’d have to go over all of this again. “What did Vivian want?’

Taglieri reached into the folder and pulled out the agreement. He began to flip through the pages. “As far as property division goes, for the most part, she wants half. That’s half the equity in the house, half the money in your banking and investment accounts, half of your retirement. She wants the SUV and half of the value of the contents of the house, in cash. She also wants an additional chunk of change, which I’m guessing is half the total you invested in your business.”

I suddenly felt as though I’d been donating blood for a week. “Is that all?”

“Well, there’s also alimony.”

“Alimony? She earns more than I do right now and she’s dating a billionaire.”

“I’m not saying she’ll get it. I suspect she’ll use it, along with the rest of the proposed property division, as leverage to get what she really wants.”

“London.”

“Yeah,” he said. “London.”

After my meeting with Taglieri, there was no time to return to the office. Instead, I drove to the school and got there early; I was at the front of the car line. I was looking over the separation agreement – it crowded out all other thoughts – when I heard a tapping on my window.

Emily.

She was wearing tight faded jeans with tears at the knees, along with a formfitting top, and the sight of her made something lift inside me. Opening the door, I stepped out into the sunlight.

“Hey there,” I said. “How are you?”

“I feel like I’m supposed to ask you that question. I’ve been thinking about you the last few days and wondering how Sunday night went.”

“It went as well as something like that could, I guess. Vivian did most of the talking.”

“How’s London doing?”

“She seems all right. Other than the fact that she’s still getting over a cold.”

“Bodhi, too. He just came down with it yesterday. I think more than half the class is sick right now. It’s like a leper colony in there.” She seemed to study me for a moment. “Other than that, how are you holding up?”

“So-so,” I admitted. “I had to meet with an attorney today.”

“Oh, yuck,” she said. “I hated that part of it.”

“It wasn’t a lot of fun,” I said. “It still feels like a dream, like it’s not really happening. Even though I know that it is.”

She looked straight at me and as she held me in her sights, I was struck by the length of her eyelashes. Had they always been that long? I found myself struggling to remember. “Did you have your questions answered?” she asked.

“I wasn’t even sure what questions to ask. That’s what I was looking over in the car. Vivian sent a proposed separation agreement.”

“I’m not a lawyer, but if you have questions, you can call. I might not be able to answer all of them, of course.”

“I appreciate that,” I said. I could see more cars pulling into line, a steady flow now. As far as I could tell, I was the only male in the pickup line. As I faced Emily, I suddenly heard Vivian’s voice in my head – rumors! – and wondered if any of the mothers in the car line were watching us. Automatically, I took a slight step backward and slipped my hand into my pocket. “Did David leave for Australia?”

She nodded. “Yesterday evening.”

“Was Bodhi upset?”

“Very. And then, of course, he wakes up sick as a dog.”

“And no word when he’ll be back?”

“He said that he might be able to visit for a few days around Christmas.”

“That’s good.”

“Sure. If he actually shows. He said the same thing last year. He’s good at saying things. The problem is, he’s not always so good at follow-through.”

I wondered where London would be this Christmas. I wondered where I would be.

“Uh-oh,” she said, tilting her head. “I said something wrong, didn’t I? You sort of drifted off there.”

“Sorry. I was just thinking about some of the things the lawyer said to me today. It looks like I might have to sell the house.”

“Oh, no. Really?”

“I’m not sure there’s another option. It’s not as though I have enough cash on hand to simply pay Vivian off.”

That was putting it mildly; if I gave in to all her demands, I’d be flat broke. Add in alimony and child support, and I wasn’t even sure whether I could afford a two-bedroom apartment.

“It’ll all work out,” she said. “I know it’s sometimes hard to believe, but it will.”

“I hope so. Right now, I just want to… escape, you know?”

“You need a break from all this,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Why don’t you guys come with Bodhi and me to the zoo in Ashboro this Saturday?”