Page 106 of The Best of Friends

Blaine set down his drink. “I don’t know if this is a good time or a bad time,” he began.

She drew in a breath. “I swear, I can’t face another inane conversation with you right now.”

“Then I’ll make this quick. I’m leaving you, Elizabeth. My lawyers will be in touch with you in the morning.”

He was speaking, but all she heard was a buzzing sound. Then she was gasping, as if all the air had left the room.

“W-what?”

“I’m done here,” he said. “I want a divorce.”

Nineteen

REBECCA TRIED TO UNDERSTAND the words, but it was impossible. All she knew for sure was that she’d never once seen Elizabeth cry, let alone hysterically. Her mother covered her face with her hands and rocked back and forth on the sofa, keening sharply between high-pitched cries of distress.

“What happened?” Rebecca asked again, hovering. “Where’s Dad?”

Apparently the wrong question, she thought as her mother exploded into deeper sobs that seemed ready to rip her apart.

An hour earlier Rebecca had been eating takeout, ready to watch that adorable Anderson Cooper on CNN. Then her mother had called and asked her to come over. At least that’s what she thought she’d said. It had been hard to understand the exact words. Now she knew why.

“Do you want a drink? Should I call a doctor?” She’d already brought in a box of tissues and didn’t know what else to do.

Elizabeth sucked in a breath. Rebecca braced herself for another round of tears, but her mother finally pulled herself together.

“It’s Blaine,” she managed, wiping at her dripping mascara. “He left.”

“You mean to get you something?” Drugs seemed like a good idea. Something to calm Elizabeth down.

“No, you fool. He leftme.” Elizabeth sprang to her feet and crossed to the open cabinet by the window. She poured scotch into a glass and gulped it down. “Your father left me. He wants a divorce.”

Rebecca felt her mouth pop open as she let her handbag fall to the carpet. “What? Daddy’s gone?”

“Apparently. I didn’t see him actually leave, although I heard the door close. He said…” She pressed her lips together and poured more scotch. “I’m sure it’s some type of crisis. Something hormonal.”

A divorce? “But you’ve been married forever.”

“Thirty-five years.”

“I don’t want to be from a broken home.” It wasn’t right. “Everything will change. I don’t want that.”

“This isn’t about you!” Elizabeth yelled. “Can’t you think of someone else for once? Your father left me. Do you know what that means? I’m ruined.”

Rebecca shifted in her seat. “Maybe he’ll change his mind.”

“I doubt it.”

“Is there…” She cleared her throat, not sure she wanted to know. “Is there someone else?”

Elizabeth just looked at her.

“Oh, God. Is she really young? Is she younger than me?”

“Oh, no. That would be understandable. That would allow people to take my side of things. But would Blaine do the reasonable, normal thing? Of course not. He has left me for Marjorie Danes.”

It took Rebecca a moment to place the woman. She lived down the street, in an even larger house. “But she’s old. She has grandchildren and doesn’t color her hair.”

Elizabeth gulped more scotch. After pouring a third drink, she returned to the sofa. “It’s a disaster. That stupid cow of a woman. It’s ridiculous. Have you seen her in a sleeveless dress? Her arms sag. I’m sure her breasts hang to her knees. She’s done nothing to keep herself looking young, and yet she’s the one he claims he wants.”