Barrett
The event was being held in an upscale hotel that looked like every other upscale hotel in the city. Faceless people passed by, dressed to the nines. Everything was the same as any other event I went to, and I felt weary right to my soul of the endless monotony that had become my life. The night was further soured by the presence of my least favourite person in the world.
“Barrett! Fancy seeing you here!” My ex-wife, Amber’s voice, grated on my nerves immediately. I turned at the entry to the hotel, and about a thousand camera flashes went off as she caught up with me, and slid her hand into the crook of my arm.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her bluntly. She shot me a dark look and then plastered on her phoniest smile.
“Smile, there’re photographers, for Christ’s sake,” she hissed at me. I let her turn me to take a photo, but smiling was a step too far. I pushed away from her and strode into the event immediately after, while she hurried after me to keep up. “Why are you running?” she muttered, and then yelped when I halted. She crashed into my chest and I took two steps back to keep my distance.
“What are you doing here?”
“My firm is one of the sponsors,” she explained.
“So much for relocating to LA,” I said, trying to dampen down the anger I felt at seeing her here, blithely attending parties in New York, without even telling me she was here, or trying to see her kids.
“I have relocated. This is just a weeklong trip.”
“And you didn’t fancy seeing Chloe and Henry while you’re here?”
“You’d let me?” she challenged.
“That’s a bullshit excuse. You know I would.” I stepped closer to her, getting in her face. “Even though I loathe you, and can barely stand the sight of you, I’d endure you, for them,” I told her curtly.
“How sweet. What a dedicated father you’ve turned out to be. Who would have thought that Mr Workaholic could have found it in his cold, dead heart to love someone else?” she spat at me, her eyes sparkling with anger. “When we were married, you could barely prise yourself away from the office to see me once a week.”
“That has everything to do with your lack of appeal, and nothing to do with the kids. I didn’t want to see you. And I’m more than capable of loving others. Thanks for checking in. In fact, I’m getting married,” I told her, the words leaving me in a rush, before I could think about how wise it was. I didn’t have to tell her anything. I had sole custody, and she was clearly uninterested in being a part of Chloe and Henry’s lives, but the need to say it out overwhelmed me. If not for the steady stream of anger that formed whenever Chloe asked for her absent mother, or Henry made her a card, then stashed it away in a drawer, I’d have long forgotten my short and regretful marriage to Amber. However, the constant reminders of how her lack of care hurt the kids fed a slow drip of fury that never fully dissipated.
“You’re getting married??” Amber repeated. I nodded.
“Yes, I’m getting married, and your kids already love her more than they ever did you.” My scathing words were harsh, but then again, she caused my kid’s pain daily. I had no mercy for her. Amber stared at me for a long moment, and then let out a shrill laugh.
“You think you’re getting married? Better do it quick, before she knows what you’re really like, and how you’ll never make time for her, or change even one thing about your life for her. You’ll be divorced again this time next year. People like you can’t change, Barrett,” my ex-wife said, colour climbing high on her cheeks, before she spun around and marched away. I felt a momentary pang of regret. Sure, Amber was a terrible human, but I had hardly been faultless in our divorce. She was right, after all. I didn’t love her, and I never had. If not for the accidental pregnancy from a one-night stand, I’d never have seen her again. Instead, we’d had twins, got married and given it a shot. It had been doomed from the start.
But Emma was something else. For her, I would remake our lives. For her, I’d give it all. You can change when the incentive is big enough, and I had finally found that reason to do it.
I had finally found her. I spied ahead, where work colleagues were mingling, and Amber was already throwing nasty glances my way. This was going to be a long night, and I was going to need a drink.