Chapter 2

I went back to the apartment Jeanie and I had shared, the one meant to be our marital home.

I'd put down the down payment myself, using years of savings. I'd spent the better part of a year renovating it before our wedding, and every single thing inside had been chosen to Jeanie's taste.

The moment I walked in, though, I noticed my navy blue slippers were gone. In their place sat a pair with a cartoon print on them, a full size smaller than my feet.

I walked into the living room without any expression. On the coffee table sat a matching pair of mugs, one printed with Jeanie's initials, the other with Vince's. Even the wedding portrait on the wall had been swapped out for a photo of the two of them together.

I looked at it all coldly and didn't touch a thing. Instead, I quietly started packing my documents and my luggage.

At ten that night, Jeanie came home. Vince trailed in behind her, a bag of wedding gifts in his hand.

Seeing me sitting in the living room, Jeanie froze for a second, then frowned.

"Keith, why haven't you even turned on a light?" She kicked off her shoes as she spoke, ordering me around like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Come unzip me; this dress is strangling me."

I stayed on the couch and didn't move.

Vince immediately set down what he was holding and hurried over, all eagerness.

"I've got it, Jeanie."

He pulled down the zipper on her wedding dress with practiced ease, the motion so smooth it looked like he'd done it a hundred times before. Jeanie didn't stop him either. She just turned to look at me.

"Just put up with it for tonight," she said. "Vince's had a lot to drink, and it's his wedding night. It'd be too lonely for him to go back to his rented place alone. I'm letting him stay here a few days, share in some of the good luck."

She gestured toward the guest room. "You can sleep in there tonight. Vince's picky about beds; he won't sleep well on the guest mattress, so he'll take the master bedroom."

I looked at how naturally she said it and almost found it funny.

"He's picky about beds, so he gets to sleep in mine?" I asked.

Jeanie's face darkened, her voice rising a notch.

"Keith, you're doing this again? Didn't I already explain it to you?" she snapped. "It's only for a few days. Do you really have to be this petty about it? You're a grown man. Can't you be a little more generous?"

Vince sighed, right on cue.

"Never mind, Jeanie," he said. "Keith doesn't want me here. I'll just go."

He said and turned to head for the door. "I've been an orphan nobody cared about since I was a kid, anyway. I'm used to it."

Jeanie grabbed his arm before he could leave, then rounded on me with a furious look.

"Keith, are you done making a scene yet?" she snapped. "Vince's dream just came true today, and you're going to ruin it for him right now?

"You put down the down payment on this apartment, sure, but I paid for half the renovations. That means I have a say in who gets to stay here too!"

I looked at her angry face and nodded, calm.

"Fine. You decide."

I walked to the entryway and picked up the suitcase I'd already packed. Jeanie froze, her eyes landing on it.

"Where are you going with a suitcase this late at night?" she said. "Keith, don't you dare try to guilt me into backing down like this. I hate it when you play the victim."

I put my hand on the doorknob and turned to look at her one last time.

"Jeanie," I said. "We're done."

She blinked, caught off guard for a second, then laughed coldly.

"Keith, don't try to scare me with a breakup," she said. "You're a teacher. Where else are you going to find someone with prospects as good as mine if you leave me?

"I'm telling you right now, if you walk out that door today, you can get down on your knees and beg tomorrow and I still won't forgive you."

As the door swung shut, I heard Vince's voice from inside.

"Don't worry, Jeanie. Keith is just stubborn. He'll come back on his own once he cools off."

I gave a faint, humorless smile and dragged my suitcase out into the night.

No.

I was never coming back.