I’d left the hotel, and I was staying with Lauren in her spare room. It didn’t make sense to rack up that kind of bill, even though some of the girls suggested that I should upgrade and really stick it to him.
That wasn’t who I was. I chose a Friday to get the remaining items of mine, to which he replied that he’d be gone. I walked around the shell of my former house, packing clothes and items that I’d brought into the relationship. It wasn’t much. I concluded that I actually was living out Sean’s life here while we were married and zipped up my suitcase as I made my way to the front door.
It opened just as I was rolling the bag across the floor, and I found myself looking into Sean’s eyes. “Hi.” I glanced past him, but he was alone.
“Did you get everything?” He asked, and I nodded as I turned my gaze to the living room. There were a few pictures of us set about, and I didn’t touch any of them. I didn’t want them. “Celia, I’m sorry about all of this. I went about it all wrong. I hate the look in your eyes now.”
“I don’t regret breaking up as much as I do the way it happened, Sean. We didn’t want the same thing.” I looked at him, seeing guilt cross his face. A realization hit me, and I shook my head. “She’s pregnant, isn’t she?”
His eyes darkened, and I let out a breath. “She just found out.”
“I am getting the fuck out of this town. You’re…unbelievable. You know that I wanted kids from the beginning and you said to wait, wait, wait. Did you even think about this with her?” I asked as his jaw set, making me realize that he was upset with himself. “Good luck, Sean. I hope you’re happy.” I walked forward with my suitcase, opening the door as I felt his eyes on me.
“Do you mean that?” Sean asked as I turned to him with a bitter smile.
“It hurts but I wouldn’t want kids with a man that didn’t feel the same way.” I sighed. “Goodbye.” I made my way to my car and loaded it up before I took another look at the house. It wasn’t mine anymore, and I took in the details slowly as I watched my soon to be ex-husband step out onto the front step. Sliding into the front seat, I started the engine and pulled out onto the main street as I turned up the radio.
I was on the phone with Mom a lot over the last few weeks and once a month or so passed, I found myself calling Nick to talk about the job. He sounded younger than I expected, but he did only have a six-year-old. Nick also sounded surprisingly calm for a man that lost his wife as we discussed the details of the job.
He was the owner of the hotel chain, Rouge. They were in high-end areas and popular, meaning that he had to travel a lot. He was looking for a nanny to live on the third floor of the house. It offered a large bedroom, office, bathroom with all the amenities, and a small kitchenette. He told me that he didn’t buy it for those features and originally planned to change it up, but now was glad that he kept it this way. His daughter had a room on the second floor, in between the third and first floor where he had his own room. The salary was generous at four thousand dollars a month, something that made me smile. I could save money and put it into the account with the settlement that I had from Sean. I had access to all the house apart from his room as if I wanted to go in there. Nick had a chef come in a few times a week to cook ahead as well as a maid service so my focus would be his daughter. I could appreciate that.
I told him that all my loose ends were tied up in Boston, accepting the job. We’d been over all the details via email and phone calls, and he felt confident about me as much as I did about taking this job. “I’ll leave tomorrow and make my way there as soon as I can,” I told him, smiling at the idea of seeing my ocean again. His house overlooked one of the beaches that I frequented when I just wanted to walk along the sand, so beautiful and peaceful.
I ended the call with his acceptance, walking out to the living room as Lauren and a few friends looked at me expectantly. “I got the job. I am leaving tomorrow.” I felt some emotion as my eyes teared up and they stood to hug me. We’d been spending time together over the last couple of weeks, going to dinner and having girl nights at Lauren’s apartment, watching movies and drinking wine. I felt like I’d said the things I needed to and that we were all settled with one another, that I could move on.
We went for dessert at a quaint little bistro, sipping wine and toasting to my new life. I knew that it was going to be a late night, but I was fine with that, planning to get a big cup of coffee from my favorite shop on the way out. I was prepared to stay the night in a hotel if necessary since Nick told me that my safe arrival was the most important matter here. He had a sister staying with him for the moment, and she was open to staying another couple of weeks until I was settled in.