The coffee sat in front of the two, for some time they just sat quietly. “Did you eat something last night Clara?”
“Hmm?”
Clara was absolutely blanked out at the moment, a week, it’s been an entire week, nor did she bring up what happened between her and this guy to anyone, or planned on it. “He still hasn’t signed the papers, has he?”
“No,” her voice died down, and her thoughts about the cheating incident subsided. “You look better than before, I was worried.”
“Worried? Why would you worry about me? I’m just your client..”
It wasn’t like she meant it to come out like that, but it did, this coffee meet up wasn’t just because she was a client, this wasn’t about being a client, “if I so happened to just, I don’t know, forget about him and get another account for my money wouldn’t that be possible?”
“I mean yes, if, but what about your husband then?”
“I can’t do it, he won’t sign the papers, and if I take him to court I’d be spending money that I don’t have. I just want to..get out of the marriage, but I don’t wish to take this as far-”
“Clara, like I asked before, are you ready to leave him?”
“Of course I am, I haven’t had sex in three years, I need some relief.”
To Clara, three years was too long, she had more sex in high school! But last week, the car sex, she was now no longer thinking about anything else at the moment. Her face heated up, she couldn’t stop thinking about the hot car sex. “You lied to me and your Father about a happy life.”
She hissed, “n-no, I just kind of slightly lied? I mean there’s nothing really much to say about it, I was tossed around a lot.”
“You weren’t adopted? Ever?”
“No, um, nobody wanted me..”
Clara tipped her glasses up on her face again, “I was born with some health problems, most people want a baby who is healthy. I mean I was healthy, but not healthy.”
“May I ask what was wrong with you?”
“Just some complications on breathing, that’s all. Nothing serious.”
Clara felt the mood drying off into a hot sun or some weird awkward moment that just didn’t seem to go away. “So, you really are okay now?”
“Yes, after a couple of surgeries, I’m great..”
“Clara, do you mind if I ask..did anything bad..happen to you?”
Her coffee was now sitting longer than that awkward moment a second ago. Her mind was trying to pull herself up to answer the woman’s questions, but she didn’t understand why she cared so much. This woman, along with her husband, had decided to just give her away. It wasn’t like Clara could understand truely why these questions kept popping up out of nowhere making her feel utterly uncomfortable. “I was bullied,” that’s all Clara said, no continuation after that. Really they had nothing to say to each other. Clara felt like she wanted to get to know her own Mother, but she was a little twenty years late. “So you have a cane?” Finally, Clara brought up something that she could answer. “You noticed. Well I was in Iraq, that’s where I got this.”
“Oh..”
“No, it’s okay, I mean if you want to hear some stories about my time serving, I’m okay to share that with you.”
The waiter came over before June could start gabbing away with her stories, “would you both like another cup?”
They sadly looked into their full cups, “no I think we are just fine sir,” June waved the guy away, noticing that his main attention was on Clara. She didn’t notice though. Her outfit was very questionable, it was like she was trying to put herself out there. Not to mention she didn’t have her ring on, the first time June met Clara, she had that ring on. Instead of going straight back to the long, long stories, the woman just stared at her, waiting for Clara to notice the stare.
Clara chose a green dress, showed a lot of cleavage, and her hair was tied back into a messy bun, to top that off she had flower patterns in her dress! She was most likely trying for something? Maybe to catch someone’s attention?
“So? What’s with this flirty vibe from you Clara?”
“Flirty?” Her voice cracked, but her eyes traveled down to her chest and then her thighs, maybe choosing a short dress wasn’t appropriate she thought. “Who did you dress up for?”
“Well, um, I am sorry if it’s bothering you, but I wanted to go out today, looking like a free woman.”
Only because the young woman slept with an older guy who had nice abs-
Saying the right thing, got June grinning ear to ear, “I’m happy to hear that your attitude has changed since I saw you last week.”
“Yes, it has, really, has.”
“Is it some..guy?”
Clara kept blushing, it was hard to hide it, she looked like her young self again, it was like life pumped its way back into her veins. “I may have had a one night stand, in my car,” she couldn’t help but laugh at herself. “Really??”
“Well this cop, he kind of..got off duty, and he did a lot more than just pay for my parking meter.”
“Wait, cop?”
“Yes..from that night I went for that walk and never returned to the restaurant.”
“So he just creepily waits for you?”
“Well he did, I didn’t get his name because he said his next shift was starting, plus people were starting to..wonder about-”
“Was he at least safe with you?”
“Is that a serious question?”
“I mean..I want you to be safe.”
Clara never had someone worry about her so much, first it was about how much she was eating, then next it had become her sex life and if she was being safe. “I..can’t have kids."
That so happened to be something she hadn’t said to the woman yet, “which is why my husband left for Vegas and strippers. I just wasn't good enough for him, one try was enough, hospital bills were..enough. It’s funny really, I used to be a CEO of my own company, then the baby came along, and I just..lost everything. My workers started acting out, not showing up..things just were collapsing.”
“A CEO? How did you manage that?”
“Well, I so happened to be the brightest person in school, which is why I was ridiculed for being smart, or beatings from classmates just for fun..I was hated by most people because I had lots of things. Brains, and love. No matter what, I just smiled each day, knowing that when I went outside to the park I’d get another trip to the doctor. I really just flew to college.”
“Where did you go?”
“To a local college, really it was nothing special, I just wanted to learn about Business. I found that it was intriguing to me. When I turned sixteen, I had already had my master’s degree, and, not to mention, I was building an empire from scratch.”
“What did you-”
“I was the CEO of a modeling program, just for babies.”
June was starting to see why Clara gave up her job after losing the baby. She probably went through hell, but she was damn proud of her for being a smart girl and overcoming her bullies. June was starting to see Clara as a really interesting person, she birthed quite a catch. “So the man, you got his phone number right?”
“Shit..no. At the moment I couldn’t, he was too busy getting his pants and boxers on.”
It had switched over completely from one topic, to the next. The two talked for what seemed like hours, still not touching their coffee, but finally when they had, the waiter came back up, was mostly looking at Clara, and he asked if she would like her coffee reheated. Of course she was going to accept, but she was noticing how he was being completely non observant. There were other people around them staring, not to mention June was sitting not too far!
“Really I’d love a warm cup of joe, but my Mother would also.”
Saying Mother shocked herself, except it felt nice to finally call someone Mom, she was just waiting for the right person to come along, even if she was twenty years late and her lawyer.
June smiled at the young boy, while waving to him in a creepy manner, but she had been sitting there the entire time again, and he was ignoring her. “Right, sorry, yeah I’ll get you and your lovely Mother something.”
He took off with their mugs, refilling them with hot coffee! Clara glanced at June then back at the guy. He was taking longer to get back to the table. When he did get back to the table the mugs were styraphone with lids. “That should keep them warm.”
Clara giggled at him, his face turned a purple shade of color, “thank you, but I do think we’d like our check for the afternoon?”
The guy skittishly flashed a smile while taking out his notepad, although he couldn’t really get ahold of it. Now Clara was going to be a tease, the boy needed to be taught a lesson. “Hmm, you are awfully cute,” she says this while getting close to him, letting him peer down into her dress to see what she kept hidden underneath. “I appreciate you being my waiter tonight…Cloud?”
Her voice was well toned, sweet, but not too sweet, just good enough to make the boy weak at the knees and his full attention on her buttermilk skinned chest. “Uh, uh..”
She grabbed the notepad from him, “you know, you have other customers that you could be..writing this out to..is there something you want?”
Cloud gulped, obviously the image of her boobs were starting to get somewhere. “Well, first of all, my eyes are up here, and if you ever want a woman, you’d meet her with your eyes first before staring at her chest. We are not sexual tools, although some prefer to be used like that. I, on the other hand, find it very rude.”
The boy looked so blanked for a second, as if he was wind lashed. He took the notepad back, finding his way to scribble out the total. He had given it to her finally, not daring to look at her in the chest this time. Clara wasn’t going to ever deny that her chest was a decent size, but she had prefered a kind, honest man, who would look her in the eyes. “Now that is settled, how about I drive you home?”
Clara, still thinking her hand was okay, used her left hand, gripping the steering wheel as if her thumb was healed up. June smacked her on the shoulder, not gentle, but good enough to let her know not to do something stupid. Finally it took her a good minute to realize where her pain was coming from. “Are you sure you're okay to go home alone?”
Just because Clara looked good, hair all fancy, and everything else all frillied, didn’t mean that she was actually doing okay. Someone couldn’t just go from crying in their car one week, because of her husband and losing a baby, to acting like it was nothing in the current week.
“Why wouldn’t I be, Mom?”
June was loving how she was already being called Mom, it just was a bummer that Nolan had ruined his chance to get to know their daughter. The poor man made a mistake the first night meeting Clara, and he knew it right away after she got up and left without saying, or looking at him. Still, June wanted to amend things. “I gave you up, because our parents didn’t approve.”
That caught the lovely moment off guard. “Never did I think that it was the best thing for you, I always wanted to go and look for you..do something, but I was afraid that you would shut me out.”
For a second, she held back on starting the Jeep up. She just let out a nervous laugh, “it’s fine.”
“There is no..apology that I could muster up for how I just disappeared from your life completely until recently.”
“Mom, stop downing my moment, and please just drop this conversation. To be clear, I didn’t want to know, I didn’t want to know about how you felt, or why you did what you did, of course I have questioned it many times when I was little, but then I just accepted it.”
Meeting this woman was obviously a turn around on things, first she was the lawyer from the restaurant, now she is her Mom, who is helping her get over some things. Not to mention she was trying to get over her husband who was still constantly trying to pull money out of the account.
Even though telling June she was okay, or fine, was supposed to mean something, it didn’t to June. June did something that Clara would never forget about, she gave her a kiss on the cheek, and a very big hug, “you will be okay, you call me if you need anything, do you understand me?”
She was taking the role now, more than anything Clara needed someone to lean on, and now was the best time to do that. She kept nodding, accepting that someone wanted to help her.
….
Still, not a single person in the house..Clara walked in the front door, and closed it, following with a lock, she has found herself wondering what in the world, is she going to do with a big house and nobody else to live in it with her? Not only that, maybe filing for bankruptcy is the better way to go?
Before she could get any further than the door, she realized a light was on in the kitchen. It was unusual, Clara recalled leaving the light off. “Brendon?” It couldn’t possibly be him, yet, she turned that corner and found him looking into the empty fridge, for a split second the only thing going through her head was, when did he come back? Why was he in the house?
Clara’s heels clicked and that’s what made the man turn. “Ahh, Clara.”
“Brendon?? When the hell did you-”
“I have a spare key, and that’s not the issue here. Why aren’t you working?”
“Didn’t you check your damn voice mail!?”
He turned to look at his phone. “Haven’t been able to. Anyways, you got money, well, I need some.”
“No, you're not getting anything, or anymore from me, so leave now Brendon! Or sign the damn papers first then leave!”
“Didn’t you get..my voicemail? I’m not giving you a divorce.”
“Then get your sorry ass out of here. You can’t just come back, expecting me to have money! Shit! I barely have anything in this house to eat because of you and the whores you fuck!”
“They aren’t whores.”
Hearing him admit that he’s sleeping with another woman was starting to make her even more sick, she just didn’t want to hear it anymore, he had no excuses, now he was back asking for more than he’s already taken from her. “Just leave,” her bag dropped to the floor, she was already showing how exhausted she was. “Well, the wife comes home, she looks sexy, hmm..maybe I was mistaken.”
Her eyes glared at him, what did he even mean? “I don’t have money, I don’t have anything in this house for you Brendon, so leave, I beg of you, just leave.”
“Maybe a fuck is all you really need? To loosen you up?”
“No, I don’t want to fuck, I’m not going to drop my damn attitude and go along with whatever you want! Now get out!”
Clara and him just kept staring at one another, before finally she began running to the door, his steps were following right behind her, of course the door was locked! Out of all things she had locked the door! His arms wrapped right around her waist, such rough kisses trailing on her neck, “let me go damnit!”
Only for a minute, he held her in his arms forcing her to obey his touch. He began kneading the front of her pelvis, waiting for a reaction, but Clara held in her suppressed moans, she didn’t want it to happen, it wasn’t his first time doing this to her, the whiskey floated up to his head and he was more enraged than anything. Before he could even consider ripping her thong down and taking her right there in the living room..a slight knock came upon the door. “Who the hell is at our door huh!?”
His left hand got a good grip of her hair, tugging it as he slipped his other hand down until finally he aggressively ripped her only thing blocking him from his view and touch. Clara whimpered as he kept tugging her around, slipping his fingers into her sex. He didn’t listen to her pouts, or the crying. She heard the sound of his fly unzipping. “N-no!”
….
That night had turned into that nightmare that she’s been dreaming of every single night. The next day she had found herself less interested in a divorce, more convinced that her life was just a glimmer away from being snuffed out, she had heard her husband warn her of the bruises, warn her of the divorce, the other night he made it clear what he thought about it all.
June sat across the coffee table, explaining the details of things, but Clara just had her head somewhere else. “Clara? Are you alright this morning? Should we wait to go to court?”
“I can’t,” Clara just beamed in uttermost sadness, “I can’t end things with him, that is how it’s just going to be okay? I’m sorry if I caused any trouble. You can keep the money, but as of right now, I am done looking to get a divorce.”
“May I ask-”
“I am just not looking for a divorce as of right now, I was, but now I’m not, so please just forget about everything.”
Before anything more could be said, Clara grabbed her purse then had left the table with not a single word. It seemed odd for things to just crumble like over done pastry.
Once more, the young woman trotted into her empty house, she had this sunken feeling deep inside her devastated heart. She was never going to get a man, let alone that hot guy she met, then had hot car sex with. It all crashed into her at once, finally her husband had more control than when she intended on giving him. Surely she would lose everything quite soon.
The house payment wouldn’t be paid for, neither would the property tax, things were suddenly looking drafty. A couple times her phone buzzed, but she couldn’t come to looking at her phone, her legs had officially given away, there she found herself resting in bed, those arms covering the back of her head, wishing somehow she’d just suffocate herself. The man had taken whatever he could sell while she was out at that meeting. TV was missing, all the meds inside the cabinet behind the mirror in the bathroom had even vanished. Clara reached down with her right hand, of course that injured hand got worse, but Clara just started using it also, not much though. The other night she fought hard with her husband.
The heels clicked and clanked as the bottoms smacked the wooden flooring, there was this sudden pause before peeling away her dirty clothes. There was no running water in the house at the moment, and the electricity bill hadn’t been paid. So there she waited for the darkness to soon eat her up.
It wasn’t long before that big fireball in the sky let its last looming light glimpse the trees tops, just enough brightness to shine into the room. Something sunny, it made the moment of feeling worthless slip away, instead, her hands grimaced the light, searching for something, but felt nothing but the saddened warmth in which had been fading quite quickly. These moments by herself, it all just warmed her heart, making the ice melt from such the heavy burden of herself that she carried.
Nolan let a chuckle out, startling Clara from this stare down with the window. The flashlight turned on, exposing her to more light. “H-how, did you get in here?”
“Your spare key, it was hidden under the floor mat in front of your front door.”
Slightly June took a seat, trying not to invade some of her space, although the invading had already happened. Clara didn’t move a muscle, her mind was entrapped along with her marriage. “What happened? It’s a mess in the living room, and you all of a sudden don’t want to proceed in the divorce?”
“I just don’t want a divorce Mom, that is all. It’s done, over with.”
“Done? Your Mother and I think that something happened maybe? Why is this just done Clara? It makes no sense.”
“Done is my final answer, now please leave, we don’t need to have anymore conversation about any of this. There is nothing to say, and I no longer need help. I’ve got things under control now.”
“What exactly is under control, Clara? You wanted a divorce, and you just changed your mind that fast? Now I’m going to ask you one more time, what happened to you? Did he come back? Does he want you back? Or is it because you still love the man?”
“Mom, just stop, right now, I cannot tell you anything, you will just need to wait some time, and time is what I need also, I will get back on my feet..it will just take some time.”
“Then how about you come stay with us?” Nolan smiled, “we got room, and it would be very nice if you’d stay a couple nights, or as many as you feel that you need. Just until you get on your feet again.”
Her body creaked the bed as she finally had slid off the bed, “I am twenty years old..I mean that’s not really the age to be moving into my parents house.”
“We know, but it’s an option that you are always welcome to Clara.”
Clara gripped her curtain and closed it tight, “fine, I will take you up on the offer, but I am not divorcing my husband.”
“I won’t change your mind Clara, but what you have, what decisions you make, surely will affect you.”
“I understand.”
The young woman clearly understood, such high maintenance of keeping her makeup up to date was in need so that nobody could see the bruising. No divorce, meant no money, no money meant complete failure, but she wasn’t ready to tell anyone of her new problems, for now, she was just going to take up their offer.
….
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