The Grace of Leaving의 모든 챕터: 챕터 1 - 챕터 9

The moment I mentioned divorce, Shirley Scott's calm face wobbled for the first time.Joshua Harris, who was smirking a second ago, suddenly looked like he was in pain. "Max, don't get it wrong," he said. "Shirley just likes my work. There's nothing going on between us. I came here to clear the air. If you're mad, take it out on me!" He bent over like he was about to apologize.Shirley grabbed him, all worried, then turned to me and snapped, saying, "Max! Enough already! It's a tiny thing, and you're making a big deal out of it. Apologize to Joshua!"Before I could even get a word in, I was the bad guy again, just like in my previous life. Every time I had trouble with Joshua back then, it was I who was in the wrong.Shirley always took Joshua's side, no matter what. Everyone knew about our loud arguments.People called me a simple and narrow-minded country bumpkin."I didn't say anything. Why should I say sorry?"He's the one who's too soft, always bending over backward. Could

I stared at Shirley, but she did not say a word to help me, just like always.She knew I had not taken her money.I understood it then.She was mad at me for wanting a divorce, for standing up to her.However, I could not wait; my mom was in the hospital.I fought to suppress the anger in me and asked, my voice all scratchy, "What do I have to do to get the money from you?"She liked seeing me give in, lifting her chin a bit. "Go and apologize to Joshua. Bow to him while you're at it."Then you'll get the money."Joshua was there, faking a nice smile.My hands were fists at my sides, so tight that they hurt.I had to do that for my mom.I bent my body in a full bow and forced out the words, saying, "I'm sorry, Joshua. I've got it all wrong about you before."Joshua made a show of helping me up, but he was really making fun of me. "You're making too much of it. I never held it against you."Sure, you talk about me behind my back and make me look bad at work, but hey, we're

The hallway went completely silent.Everyone was shocked by what I had just said.Shirley's face turned as white as a sheet, and she let out a high-pitched yell, saying, "Max, you've lost your mind!"I did not pay her any mind and kept my eyes locked on the two cops. "I've got proof!""Sir, is this for real?" The cops looked dead serious then. That was no small thing, and they were not about to slack off.I nodded hard. "Every word of it."Shirley was freaking out. She tried to shut me up, but a cop blocked her way.I gave her a sideways glance, her face all twisted up, and marched with the cops to Shirley's office.That was where her secret book was hiding.Well, someone was selling off scrap steel from the factory, but it was not me.It was her precious little brother, Walter Scott.Walter was always the smart one, taking the shady paths, until he got tangled in businesses that headed abroad.Some said that all that fancy steel ended up out of the country.As for Shirley

I had made up my mind to leave that place and head somewhere far away.It was a choice I had made on my own.I wanted to get away from all those people and things and start a brand-new life for myself."She's been asking to see you, insisting on one last meeting," the police officer said, looking at me with a hint of pity. "Will you go?"I stopped what I was doing with my hands for a moment.I remembered her in a white dress, smiling at me in the field, and the firm way she wrote the word 'quagmire' in her autobiography as she was dying.We were married once, after all.I nodded. "Yes, I'll go."As I followed the officer through the factory, all the workers looked at me with mixed feelings.They had only recently learned that I, the ordinary repairman, was the lawful husband of their esteemed Ms. Scott.I walked on without showing any emotion, ignoring their stares.…The jail was chilly and damp, with a musty, rusty smell in the air.Sitting across an icy metal table, I f

"Mr. Ferguson, drink some water. You've been sleeping at your desk for a while," she said.Her voice was as soft and gentle as the moonlight outside.Eventually, we ended up together.She never pried into my past, only saying, "I only know the Professor Ferguson of today, and that's all I need."We got married and had a sweet daughter who smiles with her eyes, just like her mom.I thought I had completely moved on from Shirley.That nothing from my past back then remained, not even a tiny scar.Until one snowy evening, 15 years later.Snowflakes drifted down like a thick blanket, trying to cover the whole world.I was cozy in my work car, the heater keeping the chill at bay.My daughter's favorite nursery rhyme was playing on the radio.I was heading to pick up Jennifer from her job and was planning to grab her most-loved pancakes on the way.As I drove, I came upon an underpass.A shadowy figure was huddled at the entrance, barely visible in the dim light.Against the sw