“Answer the damn phone, bitch.”Click.
“I don’t think so.” Fiona finished the last delicious bite of her cinnamon bun. She washed it down with coffee and stood to pour herself another.
“Ms. McDonald, this is Karen from Jones and Belton. Mr. Belton asked me to tell you we served your husband with divorce papers this morning. We have also couriered a copy of the paperwork to you. If you have any queries, please call.”Click.
“You bitch! You can’t divorce me. My religion doesn’t allow divorce. Call me. We can work this out.”Click.
“Hypocrite, I’m not changing my mind. Asshole.” Saying the words gave her a rush of pleasure. The young policeman had been right. Taking control of her life empowered her.
“You can’t do this. I’ll see you dead first.”Click.
Fiona flinched, her left hand trembling and splashing coffee from her mug onto the white countertop. Perhaps she’d get a throwaway phone during her shopping splurge. She started to delete the messages and stopped. No, she’d turn off this phone and keep it in the drawer in case she needed to use his threats against him. Her lawyer had assured her that Robert couldn’t touch her money since it remained in trust. While she might need to pay him out, the divorce would go ahead.
Perhaps she was slow, but she learned from her mistakes.
Fiona set off for the front door with a spring in her step. Even with her arm in a sling and her marriage falling apart, the freedom she experienced brought joy and happiness. She unlocked the door and stepped outside into the muggy Florida heat. The sun beat down overhead while a breeze tugged the ends of her loose brown hair. Perfect weather for a ride on a water taxi.
With a smile, she started down the six steps leading to the entrance of her property. A man shouted, and her head jerked up. Something struck her chest, then the smell registered.
“Ooh, gross!” She let out a screech of alarm and grimaced at the excrement on her blouse. Most had bounced off and dropped to the steps at her feet. What the heck?
“Strike one,” a male voice shouted.
She straightened seconds before a rotten tomato thumped into her shoulder. Another two catapulted toward her. One struck her leg and the other missed her by a foot.
“Strike two!”
Anger broke through her shock. “I see you, Anton. If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police.”
“Yeah, well. You shouldn’t have screwed Robert and left him with nothing. He’s sleeping on my couch.”
“Not my problem.”
Fiona marched back inside to take her second shower of the morning.
Determined not to let Robert’s relations ruin her shopping trip, she headed out again, this time calling a cab. She climbed into the rear of the vehicle and clicked her seat belt into place when the driver cursed.
“What the hell?” He lowered his window and stuck his head out. “What the fuck, man? What did I do to you?”
“Ask your bitch passenger.”
Fiona met the driver’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “Messy divorce.”
“You’re telling me, lady. That white stuff on my windshield had better come off.”
“I think it’s flour.”
“Who will pay for my vehicle to get cleaned?” the driver groused.
“I’ll pay for your car wash,” Fiona promised. “We should leave before those idiots throw something else.”
“Lady, you’re not wrong.”
The cabbie dropped her at her favorite mall. Unfortunately, Robert’s cousins must have followed because they turned her morning into a nightmare. Eggs, flour, paint and rotten tomatoes. Oh, and don’t forget the turds. By the time she reached the shop she favored for clothes, various substances covered her clothing and hair.
She hesitated at the doorway and decided to shop online. First, she’d buy a prepaid phone, and she’d ask whoever served her if they’d call mall security or better yet, the police.
Whether or not Robert liked it, they were getting a divorce, and as far as she was concerned, that meant separation from his crazy family as well.
