One year later
"How've you been? I haven't seen you in a while." The woman's sister, Madeline exclaims.
The woman puts down the menu and smiles at her sister. "I've been alright."
Madeline studies her. "Just alright? Nothing extraordinary going on in your life?"
The woman shrugs and puts her attention back to her menu. "Just the same old same old. The only thing I can say is extraordinary is having Julia signed up for dance class. She's very excited to start in the fall."
Madeline takes a sip from her red wine. "That's nice. I've always pictured Julia as a dancer."
The woman smiles as she thought of her daughter. "She's actually very talented for her age. She begged me to sign her up for dance. And I'm excited to see her dance in the recitals but I'm worried about the expenses."
"Do you need any help with that?"
"Oh no, I'm fine for now. I just mean if she would want to do dance next year, I don't know if we'd be able to afford it."
Madeline gives her a supportive smile. "I get it. Times are tough nowadays."
"I might have to get myself a job soon. To help out with the bills."
"Would you need a babysitter?"
"Yeah probably."
"You know I would always help out with that. But since I'm busy with college my schedule might conflict your future work schedule."
The woman nods. "I know and I wouldn't be asking you all the time. I'll probably drop Julia off at mom's whenever she's free."
"That's a good idea. Mom only works part time and only whenever they need her at the clinic. And she's thinking about retiring soon so she'll most likely be your normal sitter for Julia."
"That's true," the woman takes a final look from the menu. "I think I'm gonna have the chicken Alfredo."
Madeline smiles. "I think I'll have the same."
The woman laughs at her. "You always copy my order."
"The Alfredo sounds yummy."
"You're so unoriginal."
The waitress arrives and takes the sisters' orders.
After she left with their order written down, the woman decided it was time to tell her sister about her husband.
"So a few years ago, I realized my husband was seeing another woman."
Madeline gasps. "Are you serious?"
The woman nods. "Yes. I've caught him multiple times sneaking off with her."
"And you're still with him?"
"I am. He denies sleeping with her but I've heard him have intimate conversations with her over the phone."
"I don't follow. Why are you still with him?"
The woman clears her throat. "He's my husband. We made our vows."
Madeline frowns and takes another sip of her wine. "You deserve better than this."
The waitress comes back with their Alfredo. "I hope you enjoy." She says with a smile.
The sisters thank her and begin to dig in their meals after the waitress left to refill their wines.
Madeline takes a bite of her pasta. "This is really good. I'll have to remember to come back here when I'm in town again."
The woman smiles. "Alejandro's is the best."
The waitress returns with their glasses refilled with red wine.
"How's the food? She asks.
The woman smiles at her. "It's really good."
Madeline nods her head and looks up at the waitress. "Please give my thanks to the chef."
The waitress smiles back. "I'll go tell the kitchen staff." And she leaves again.
———————-
"I'm stuffed." Madeline says as they exit the restaurant.
"Me too." Says the woman.
The sisters step inside the woman's car.
"Thanks for giving me a ride back to my dorm. I know it's far from your place."
The woman waves a hand at her. "Don't worry about it. I enjoy hanging out with you."
"So are you sure you want to stay with your husband? I'm just worried about you, sis."
The woman sighs. "Of course I want to stay with him."
"But he's still talking to Claudia. How can you go on with your life knowing that? Don't you want happiness?"
"I'm going to cheat on him too." The woman pauses to rephrase herself. "But it'll be more like revenge in a way, though."
Madeline looks at her sister with surprise. "Really? With who?"
The woman shrugs. "Any guy will do. Maybe his dead beat father."
Madeline playfully hits her sister. "Oh come on, you're not that twisted."
The woman looks back at her with a wink. "Am I?"
Madeline laughs. "Well if you're going to cheat on him back, I would suggest making it a big ordeal. Have him catch you in the act."
The woman rolls her eyes. "Well that would just give him an excuse to leave me. I never really caught him cheating on me."
Madeline furrows her brows. "But you said you saw him sneaking around and having private phone calls with Claudia?"
The woman makes a turn at the traffic light.
"Correct, but I've never caught him sleeping with her. He's very sneaky with that."
"So what are you going to do?"
The woman smiles sinisterly. "I'll let you know when I think of it. I'm just plotting for now."
YOU ARE READING
The Divorce
General Fiction"You hardly talk to me anymore." She says. "And you hardly smile anymore." He says. The woman sighs and puts her red coat on. "Well...I guess this is it then?" The man nods and looks down at his shoes. "Yes, I believe so." A couple who have been m...
