Heart Pulled to Pieces

31-Epilogue

We sat in the office of Melanie Williams on a sunny afternoon in June. Eddie knotted his hands over and over again, sweating a little as he tapped his foot gently. It has taken a while to get the divorce process going again because Melanie had a few messier ones to deal with, and our quiet ending wasn’t a priority to her. As long as it was done, and soon, I didn't mind. Five months wasn’t as long of a wait as we could have had.

“Okay," Melaine said, going over the papers one more time. "The conditions are the same as the last agreement we came up with.” She handed Eddie the sheets. “And this time, sign all the papers.” She removed her glasses and handed Eddie her pen.

I watched him carefully, counting each page as he went through them. Six was the magic number- Three, four, five, he hesitated, six. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad he wasn’t going to try to put up a fight as he handed me the pen and papers.

“Are you absolutely sure?” He asked as I took them from him.

“Yep,” I replied, sounding more chipper than I probably should have. I started to sign, trying not to hum while I did. I handed Melanie the papers once I've scrawled my last ‘s’. “Please, double-check that every single one is there.” I asked, smiling.

She flipped through the sheets twice. “Oh yeah, you are divorced now.” She said, also smiling, extending her hand for a shake. I gladly accepted it this time around. “Congratulations, Miss Mathews.” She said still grinning.

“Thank you, Miss Williams.” I looked at Eddie who stood slowly, shook her hand hesitantly, and looked at me shyly.

“I guess this is it, huh, Andi?” He shrugged.

“Well, yeah. There isn’t anything else left to say or do.” I turned and opened the door to the office, stepping out and feeling free.

I looked around the waiting room, searching for him. He was near the entrance, sitting slouched in the chair, arms folded, patiently waiting. I walked over to my boyfriend eagerly.

“Are you a truly single woman now, Miss Andi?” Rob asked as he stood, putting his hands on my arms.

“Absolutely.” I smiled, brushing his face with the back of my hand. “Are we heading back to Bayside?”

“Well,” He put his arm around me and walked me out of the office. We shielded our eyes instinctively from the overbearing sun, the air feeling fresh on my skin. “It’s a three and a half-hour drive back to Bayside.” Rob said. “I thought maybe we could spend the night, catch a show. I hear Mund Sky’s got a great one we should go see.” He looked down at me, smirking. “I already have a hotel room booked.”

“Sounds good.” I stopped, standing on my toes and kissing him. “Is it ready now?” I asked. He responded with a laugh, mixing lust with humor.

 “Patience," He replied, taking my hand and leading me down the road. “We have the rest of our lives to do that.”