Passion In James County XIX: Family Affairs
Chapter nineteen
Matt walked into the Forrester house ahead of Mary, so he saw the note on the kitchen counter before she did. He picked it up, saw Mr. Forrester's signature and, even though he knew he shouldn't read it, he did. And, as he read it, he experienced a combination of elation and fear.
"Mary,
I tried getting you on the phone all day, then I came home and you weren't here. I don't know where the hell you were, but the fact that you weren't here did give me time to think. Maybe you're right, maybe there are problems in our marriage, but they sure as hell don't all lie with me. I'm moving out. For how long is pretty much up to you. You want to talk to me, you can call me the office tomorrow.
Tom"
Matt handed the note to Mary. "You better read this," he said.
"What is it?" Mary asked. She took the note and began to read, licking her lips absently as she did. When she finished reading it, she looked at Matt. "Did you read this?"
He nodded.
"What do you think I should do?" she asked.
Matt shrugged.
Mary moved against him, hugged him tightly, then kissed him softly on the cheek. "It's over," she said, "My marriage, I mean. I...I'm not going to let Tom come back. That would only mean going through more hell, and I know the end result would be divorce anyhow. I really believe there's nothing left for Tom and me."
When he heard Mary's words, Matt felt light-headed. He hugged her so hard she gasped.
"Hey, come on, Matt, you'll break my ribs if you keep that up," Mary laughed.
Ricky got home about five and was more than happy to go out for pizza.
"Practice was really a bitch!" he complained as the three of them walked out to Matt's truck. "The way coach has been acting, you'd think we lost all our games instead of won them."
Once they were in the truck, they headed downtown for one of the popular pizza houses. As Matt drove, Mary let her hand drop on his thigh and caressed it gently. He liked that a lot. They were almost finished with their meal when Matt noticed that Mary's face was serious.
"Ricky, there's something you need to know," she said.
"Why so serious, Mom?" her son asked.
Mary handed him the note. Ricky read it, and his face got very pale.
"Mom, what...what's this all about?" he asked.