princesses. If you run, they ’ ll never catch you.”
She had taken the words to heart, and they had become a sort of mantra for her. If you run, they ’ ll never catch you. She had run from her parents and her ancestral home as soon as she could and had barely looked back. When things had gotten difficult in law school, she had run to a lesser-paying job as a law firm ’ s investigator. She still wondered if she had actually run the same way in Baltimore as her marriage crumbled.
The thought forced her to think of her ex-husband, Stuart. It had been nearly a week since he had left a message for her, requesting some time to “talk.” She knew what that meant. He had a tendency to try to win her back after each new girlfriend failed to live up to his standards. She couldn ’ t think of another reason he would want to speak with her. They had no connections left. No kids. No joint property or papers to be signed. Not even a dog or common friends. The only other thing could have been a death in his family. She had always loved Stuart ’ s mother, and she felt a pang of guilt at the possibility of missing her former mother-in-law ’s funeral.
The decision made, she steeled herself and dialed Stuart ’ s office. The secretary patched her through almost immediately. “It took you long enough to return my call,” Stuart said on the other end of the line.
She wanted to return the condescension in his voice but resisted, just in case there was a valid reason for his call. Instead, she said evenly, “I ’ ve been very busy with work.”
“Oh, I ’ m sure. Deacon ’ s probably been keeping you late.”
His voice was thick with sarcasm and implication, but she didn ’ t rise to the bait. They had been down this road several times. She didn ’ t speak a word, just held the phone and used the silence as a weapon against him.
After a few awkward seconds, he said, “Anyway, I was really hoping that I could come down to DC and take you out to dinner. Maybe this weekend.”
She sighed. “ I don’ t think that would be a good idea.”
“Come on, Bella,” he said. Stuart was the only person who had ever called her by that name. It had sounded sexy and exotic to her ears during the early years of their relationship. Now it sounded like something you would name the family dog.
“ I don’ t know why you keep at this.”
“Maybe I don ’ t like giving up on a good thing.”
“Please...you never felt that way during the marriage or in the months of separation. You seemed to think there were plenty of good things out there.”
“Now I know better.”
“Good for you. I need to go.”
“ Wait, I’ m serious. I know that I ’ ve made a lot of mistakes, and I ’ m truly sorry. I ’ ve been going to counseling, and my therapist thinks that maybe she could help you and me work through the problems in our relationship. Maybe we could put the past behind us and find something new. I wanted to ask you about it over dinner, but…”
She just held the phone. He had tried to talk her into his bed several times since the divorce, but he had never actually apologized and had always refused her attempts at seeking the advice of a marriage counselor.
“Bella? You still there?”
“ I don’ t know what to say.”
“Say, ‘yes. ’ Listen, I ’ ve even been talking to the counselor about kids. She ’ s helped me realize that I never wanted kids because of the issues from my own childhood, but we ’ re working through all that. I ’ m thinking that maybe I could deal with a baby now.”
“I never wanted you to ‘deal with ’ having a kid, Stuart. I didn ’ t want you to ‘ give in. ’ I wanted you to be my partner and be excited about creating a family with me.”
“That ’ s not what I meant. You ’ re twisting my words.”
“You don ’ t even like kids.”
“You ’ re right. But maybe that ’ s because I never had one of my own. Besides, I ’ m not asking you to have a kid right now. I
She had taken the words to heart, and they had become a sort of mantra for her. If you run, they ’ ll never catch you. She had run from her parents and her ancestral home as soon as she could and had barely looked back. When things had gotten difficult in law school, she had run to a lesser-paying job as a law firm ’ s investigator. She still wondered if she had actually run the same way in Baltimore as her marriage crumbled.
The thought forced her to think of her ex-husband, Stuart. It had been nearly a week since he had left a message for her, requesting some time to “talk.” She knew what that meant. He had a tendency to try to win her back after each new girlfriend failed to live up to his standards. She couldn ’ t think of another reason he would want to speak with her. They had no connections left. No kids. No joint property or papers to be signed. Not even a dog or common friends. The only other thing could have been a death in his family. She had always loved Stuart ’ s mother, and she felt a pang of guilt at the possibility of missing her former mother-in-law ’s funeral.
The decision made, she steeled herself and dialed Stuart ’ s office. The secretary patched her through almost immediately. “It took you long enough to return my call,” Stuart said on the other end of the line.
She wanted to return the condescension in his voice but resisted, just in case there was a valid reason for his call. Instead, she said evenly, “I ’ ve been very busy with work.”
“Oh, I ’ m sure. Deacon ’ s probably been keeping you late.”
His voice was thick with sarcasm and implication, but she didn ’ t rise to the bait. They had been down this road several times. She didn ’ t speak a word, just held the phone and used the silence as a weapon against him.
After a few awkward seconds, he said, “Anyway, I was really hoping that I could come down to DC and take you out to dinner. Maybe this weekend.”
She sighed. “ I don’ t think that would be a good idea.”
“Come on, Bella,” he said. Stuart was the only person who had ever called her by that name. It had sounded sexy and exotic to her ears during the early years of their relationship. Now it sounded like something you would name the family dog.
“ I don’ t know why you keep at this.”
“Maybe I don ’ t like giving up on a good thing.”
“Please...you never felt that way during the marriage or in the months of separation. You seemed to think there were plenty of good things out there.”
“Now I know better.”
“Good for you. I need to go.”
“ Wait, I’ m serious. I know that I ’ ve made a lot of mistakes, and I ’ m truly sorry. I ’ ve been going to counseling, and my therapist thinks that maybe she could help you and me work through the problems in our relationship. Maybe we could put the past behind us and find something new. I wanted to ask you about it over dinner, but…”
She just held the phone. He had tried to talk her into his bed several times since the divorce, but he had never actually apologized and had always refused her attempts at seeking the advice of a marriage counselor.
“Bella? You still there?”
“ I don’ t know what to say.”
“Say, ‘yes. ’ Listen, I ’ ve even been talking to the counselor about kids. She ’ s helped me realize that I never wanted kids because of the issues from my own childhood, but we ’ re working through all that. I ’ m thinking that maybe I could deal with a baby now.”
“I never wanted you to ‘deal with ’ having a kid, Stuart. I didn ’ t want you to ‘ give in. ’ I wanted you to be my partner and be excited about creating a family with me.”
“That ’ s not what I meant. You ’ re twisting my words.”
“You don ’ t even like kids.”
“You ’ re right. But maybe that ’ s because I never had one of my own. Besides, I ’ m not asking you to have a kid right now. I
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