Two By Two

Marge didn’t seem convinced. “I’m going to call and check on you today. More than once.”

“Okay,” I agreed, but I knew there was part of me that was afraid to be alone. What if I simply broke into pieces as soon as she left? Or shattered, like the rest of my world.

Vivian had left me.

She was in love with someone else.

I was a terrible husband, worthless, and I had failed.

I disappointed her one too many times, and now I was alone.

Oh, my God, I thought, as soon as Marge closed the door behind her. I’m alone.

I’m going to end up dying alone.

While London was at school, I walked. I paced from one end of the house to the other and back again; I walked the streets of my neighborhood for hours. Questions about Vivian smashed into one another like endless battering rams. Was she in Atlanta or in another city? Was she taking the day off to set up the apartment or at the office? I wondered what she was doing – I imagined her using an earpiece as she spoke on the phone in a corner office, or hurrying down the hall carrying a stack of papers, the office I envisioned shifting from sleek and modern to stuffy and formal. I wondered whether Spannerman was with her; I wondered whether she was laughing beside him or at her desk with her head in her hands. I checked my cell phone constantly, hoping to hear from her, watching for texts or missed calls. I brought the phone everywhere. I wanted to hear her voice telling me that she’d made a mistake and that she wanted to come home. I wanted her to tell me that she still loved me. I wanted her to ask me to forgive her, and in my heart, I knew that I wouldn’t hesitate. I still loved her; the thought of life without her was incomprehensible.

All the while, I continued to wonder what I had done wrong. Was it quitting my job? Was it that I’d gained a little weight? Was it that I had worked too much, prior to quitting my job? And when did things start going wrong? When did I become disposable? How could she leave us? How could she leave London? Did Vivian intend to take her to Atlanta?

The final question was the worst of all, too much to contemplate, and after finally returning to the house, I was exhausted. I knew I should nap, but as soon as I lay down, my mind began to race. Marge called three times, and I realized I had yet to tell my parents what had happened, but I still didn’t want to believe it.

I wanted this to be a dream.

In midafternoon, I picked up London while my internal storm continued to rage. She asked for ice cream, and though the request felt impossibly taxing, I somehow made it to Dairy Queen. I also, somehow, got her to dance class on time.

I went for a walk while London was at class. I’m not a strong man. I paced to the end of the strip mall. When I reached it, tears had begun to blur my vision and all at once, I was standing by myself with shoulders heaving, my face in my hands.

“When’s Mommy coming home?” London asked me. There was a box of pizza on the table and I set my slice of pizza aside. I’d finished half of it. “I don’t know, sweetheart. I haven’t talked to her,” I said. “But as soon as I find out, I’ll let you know.”

If she thought my answer odd, she didn’t show it. “Did I tell you that Bodhi and me found a baby turtle at recess?”

“A baby turtle?”

“We were playing freeze tag and I found it over by the fence and he was so cute. And then Bodhi came over and he thought it was really cute, too. We tried to feed it grass, but it wasn’t hungry, and then all the other kids came over and the teacher came over, too. And we asked if we could put it in a box and bring it into the classroom and the teacher said yes!”

“That sounds exciting.”

“It was! She got a pencil box and she put the turtle in it, and then we all walked with her while she brought it into the classroom. I think the turtle was scared because it kept trying to get out but it couldn’t because the box was too slippery on the sides. And then we wanted to name it but the teacher said that we probably shouldn’t because she was going to let it go.”

“She didn’t want to keep it?”

“She said that it probably missed its mommy.”

I felt a lump in my throat. “Yeah. That makes sense.”

“But me and Bodhi named him anyway. We decided to call him Ed.”

“Ed the turtle?”

“We also thought about calling him Marco.”

“How do you know it’s a boy turtle?”

“We just know.”

“Oh,” I said and despite the torment of the last couple of days, I found myself smiling.

It didn’t last.

While I was putting the remains of the pizza into ziplock bags, Vivian called. When I saw her photograph on the screen of my phone, my heart suddenly hammered in my chest. London was in the family room watching television and I stepped out the kitchen door, onto the back patio. I steeled myself before connecting the call.

“Hey there,” I said, trying to sound like everything was normal between us when actually, nothing was normal at all. “How are you?”

She hesitated. “I’m okay. How are you?”

“It’s been a little strange here,” I said. “But I’m holding up. Where are you now?”

She seemed to debate whether or not to answer. “I’m in Tampa,” she finally admitted. “Is London around? Or is she already in the bath?”

“No, not yet. She’s in the family room.”

“Can I talk to her?”

I steadied my breathing. “Before I put her on the phone, don’t you think we should talk?”