to his head, she smelled a new musky scent on him. Of course, that’s how it should be. He or Valerie had probably thrown out that last bottle of Armani she’d bought him just days before she found Valerie’s love note in his coat pocket.
“I’m taking the van, Rob. Suitcase or no suitcase.”
“We need to talk. The car isn’t far.” He walked away with Lori’s suitcase. Everything always on his terms. Even after the divorce. She meant to stand up to him. She had the strength for it finally—fury had poured concrete into her backbone—but she guessed that his need to talk had to do with Jessica. They had joint custody over her. Lori could divorce Valerie’s lover, but not Jessica’s father. Lori followed him, curious and a little anxious.
The day was cloudy and humid, but the silver Mercedes sparkled, it was so new. It still had that leather smell. Rob had waited until after the divorce was granted to buy the Mercedes and a two-bedroom apartment on Park Avenue. Lori had accepted a generous monthly payment for the upkeep of the house and Jessica’s needs, but only a lump sum for herself, enough to give her a year’s respite while she got Corvino Catering back on its feet. Still, she couldn’t help wondering how much money he had managed to hide from her and her lawyer. Maybe he had come to give her the monthly check he owed her. He was two weeks late.
“What do you need to talk about?” Lori asked after Rob paid the attendant and swung out of the parking lot.
“You look good,” Rob said. The compliment caught Lori unawares. To her shame later, she felt flattered instead of warned. “Trip okay?” He smiled. His teeth were now so white, they looked blue. Compliments of Valerie Fenwick, DDS, for sure. They made him look ridiculous.
“Fabulous. So what is this about?”
“You remember that according to our agreement, I get Jessica for a month during the summer.”
“Every other weekend and a month in the summer with the father to be mutually agreed upon,” Lori recited. “For the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays the parents agree to rotate. And also according to our agreement you are supposed to give me a check on the first of each month.”
“You’ll get it next week. I’ve had a lot of expenses lately.”
Sure, Lori thought, a big fat engagement ring, a new car, a new apartment, a wedding. Who knows what else.
“Look, the firm is very busy right now.” Rob was a labor lawyer, representing management. While he was still in law school, his goal had been the defense of the downtrodden worker, but with student loans to pay, marriage on the horizon, and a stubborn Irish pride that compelled him to be the sole breadwinner, he turned his back on the downtrodden and joined a four-name New York law firm that specialized in defending big companies. His name was now the fifth one on the masthead. In the months after Lori discovered his infidelity she tried to blame the wrong turn in his career, the giving up of his ideals, for what had happened. It was easier than to think she bored him.
“My whole summer is booked,” Rob said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll see Jessica has fun. For that we’ll need a timely monthly check.” Lori found herself smiling. She would have almost three months to try to convince her daughter that Dad leaving home was not all Mom’s fault.
“By the way, I got you a catering job,” he said. “Mrs. Charles Saddler of Bedford, not more than a ten-minute drive from the house, is giving a dinner for twenty-four on July twenty-eighth. She’s desperate for a caterer no one in her circle has used before. Saddler’s a client of mine.”
“No thanks, I’ll get my own jobs.”
“For Chrissakes, it’s a foot in the door of very rich people who entertain every weekend. Once you’re back at work, you’ll feel better.”
“Don’t patronize me, Rob!”
“Don’t yell at me.”
Lori stared at the hands on her lap, waiting for her heartbeat to settle down to
“I’m taking the van, Rob. Suitcase or no suitcase.”
“We need to talk. The car isn’t far.” He walked away with Lori’s suitcase. Everything always on his terms. Even after the divorce. She meant to stand up to him. She had the strength for it finally—fury had poured concrete into her backbone—but she guessed that his need to talk had to do with Jessica. They had joint custody over her. Lori could divorce Valerie’s lover, but not Jessica’s father. Lori followed him, curious and a little anxious.
The day was cloudy and humid, but the silver Mercedes sparkled, it was so new. It still had that leather smell. Rob had waited until after the divorce was granted to buy the Mercedes and a two-bedroom apartment on Park Avenue. Lori had accepted a generous monthly payment for the upkeep of the house and Jessica’s needs, but only a lump sum for herself, enough to give her a year’s respite while she got Corvino Catering back on its feet. Still, she couldn’t help wondering how much money he had managed to hide from her and her lawyer. Maybe he had come to give her the monthly check he owed her. He was two weeks late.
“What do you need to talk about?” Lori asked after Rob paid the attendant and swung out of the parking lot.
“You look good,” Rob said. The compliment caught Lori unawares. To her shame later, she felt flattered instead of warned. “Trip okay?” He smiled. His teeth were now so white, they looked blue. Compliments of Valerie Fenwick, DDS, for sure. They made him look ridiculous.
“Fabulous. So what is this about?”
“You remember that according to our agreement, I get Jessica for a month during the summer.”
“Every other weekend and a month in the summer with the father to be mutually agreed upon,” Lori recited. “For the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays the parents agree to rotate. And also according to our agreement you are supposed to give me a check on the first of each month.”
“You’ll get it next week. I’ve had a lot of expenses lately.”
Sure, Lori thought, a big fat engagement ring, a new car, a new apartment, a wedding. Who knows what else.
“Look, the firm is very busy right now.” Rob was a labor lawyer, representing management. While he was still in law school, his goal had been the defense of the downtrodden worker, but with student loans to pay, marriage on the horizon, and a stubborn Irish pride that compelled him to be the sole breadwinner, he turned his back on the downtrodden and joined a four-name New York law firm that specialized in defending big companies. His name was now the fifth one on the masthead. In the months after Lori discovered his infidelity she tried to blame the wrong turn in his career, the giving up of his ideals, for what had happened. It was easier than to think she bored him.
“My whole summer is booked,” Rob said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll see Jessica has fun. For that we’ll need a timely monthly check.” Lori found herself smiling. She would have almost three months to try to convince her daughter that Dad leaving home was not all Mom’s fault.
“By the way, I got you a catering job,” he said. “Mrs. Charles Saddler of Bedford, not more than a ten-minute drive from the house, is giving a dinner for twenty-four on July twenty-eighth. She’s desperate for a caterer no one in her circle has used before. Saddler’s a client of mine.”
“No thanks, I’ll get my own jobs.”
“For Chrissakes, it’s a foot in the door of very rich people who entertain every weekend. Once you’re back at work, you’ll feel better.”
“Don’t patronize me, Rob!”
“Don’t yell at me.”
Lori stared at the hands on her lap, waiting for her heartbeat to settle down to
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