“Not really. When I heard he was officially missing, I was relieved that I didn’t have to pay for a private investigator to find him. Then I felt bad for thinking that way.”
“Because you’re kind. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have felt bad. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think you should feel bad for finding a silver lining in a bad situation.”
“The whole thing has been exhausting. I don’t understand why he made me do all the work. He’s the one who cheated, and he’s the one who left. I wasn’t going to let him stay, but thankfully, that wasn’t an issue I had to address. Anyway, it was obvious he wanted a divorce, so why didn’t he take what was being handed to him? It’s all paid for. All he had to do was sign the damn papers.”
“You said you two didn’t have any assets to fight over, right?”
“Right,” she confirmed. “There is nothing for him to lose or gain by divorcing me.”
“Have you considered getting a second opinion?” I asked carefully.
“What do you mean?”
“Talking to a different lawyer,” I clarified.
“No,” she said slowly. “Do you think I should?”
“I don’t think it would hurt to see what someone else has to say about the situation. The club has a lawyer you could talk to. She’s always done a great job with anything she’s handled for the club.”
“Do you know how much her consultation fee is?”
“She won’t charge you for a consultation.”
“Are you sure about that?”
I smiled. “I’m sure. She gives free consultations to any potential clients we send to her.”
“Well, like you said, it probably wouldn’t hurt to see what she has to say. What’s her name? I’ll give her a call tomorrow.”
“Tina Rivera.”
She was quiet for a few minutes while I continued aimlessly scrolling through movie options. “I have a confession,” she said.
“A confession?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “Because you said I was too nice, and well, I’m not always nice.”
“Oh, this has to be good. What did you do?”
“Not long after he left, I was scrolling on social media and came across this … I don’t even know what to call it. It was a stuffed animal, but it had a vibrating part that extended and could thrust. I ordered one and sent it to his mother’s house. I included a note telling him it was a gift so he could keep fucking right off.”
“That’s hilarious,” I laughed.
“It gets better. His mother opened it and accused him of being a pedophile. He called me ranting and raving, and all I could do was laugh.”
Diablo suddenly jumped to his feet and let out a low growl while staring toward the front of the house. His growls turned to barks when the doorbell rang moments later.
“Are you expecting anyone?” I asked.
Daphne shook her head and moved to get up.
“Stay where you are,” I told her. “I’ll see who it is.”
I peeked out the front window and was surprised to see Ink and Byte standing on the front porch. “It’s Ink and Byte,” I said before I opened the door.
“Diablo,” she called. “It’s okay. Come here.”
Diablo looked at the door and huffed before he reluctantly returned to Daphne.