Graham was quiet. Then he said, "She apparently regrets how things ended. " I looked through the glass wall of my office at the employees working outside. That's something she'll have to live with. Peter, yeah, you really don't feel anything. I thought about it.
I feel something. What? 15 years mattered to me. There was silence on the phone, but that doesn't mean I want them back. Graham finally said, "I understand. " We hung up.
I put my phone on the desk and went back to work. I didn't know it yet, but Alice wasn't finished with me. She had lost Thomas. And for the first time since our divorce, she was beginning to understand what she had lost with me, too. Three weeks after Graham told me Alice and Thomas had broken up, I received another call.
It was from Sarah. I almost didn't answer. When I did, she got straight to the point. Alice wants to talk to you. I was sitting in my office reviewing a contract.
About what? She didn't say. Then tell her I'm not interested. Sarah was quiet. Peter, she isn't asking you to get back together.
Then what does she want? She wants to apologize. I closed the folder in front of me. She had plenty of opportunities to do that. Sarah was quiet for a moment.
She chose someone else. I know. So, what changed? Sarah sighed. Thomas.
I waited. She found out he was seeing another woman. I leaned back. When? Near the end of their relationship.
How did she find out? She saw messages on his phone. I nodded. So, he was cheating on her. Apparently, I didn't feel satisfaction hearing it.
If anything, it made the whole situation more depressing. Alice had left me because another man made her feel wanted. Then, she discovered that the same man was giving someone else the attention she thought belonged to her. Sarah continued, "She said she kept comparing him to you. " I looked at the clock. That's not my problem.
No, it isn't. Then why are you telling me? Because she asked me to. I was quiet for a moment. Tell her I hope she gets her life together.
That's all. That's all. Sarah sounded disappointed. She really thought you'd want to hear from her. I don't.
After we hung up, I went back to work. But this time, I couldn't completely push the conversation aside. Not because I wanted Alice back. I didn't. But because 15 years don't disappear just because a marriage ends.
There were memories I couldn't erase. our first apartment, the house we bought, vacations, family dinners, arguments over stupid things, quiet Sunday mornings, all of it had been real. That was what made her decision hurt. She hadn't left because our entire marriage had been terrible. She had left because she believed something better was waiting for her. Now that it hadn't worked out, she was looking backward.
I wasn't going to become her safety net. Two days later, Graham called. She's going to contact you herself. I rubbed my forehead. How do you know?
She told me. Okay, you should at least hear her out. Why? Because she was your wife for 15 years. That doesn't give her access to my life whenever she wants.