She knew him. He’d talked to her. She hadn’t liked everything he’d had to say, but they’d talked.
“It’s not ideal,” she finished.
“I’m Jonathan’s bookkeeper,” Daisy said. “That’s my job. I do all the financial stuff for the construction company. But I do more than that too. I collect the payments, and I organize everything. I make sure all his accounts are balanced and he isn’t going to overdraw. I’m still working for him.”
“That’s not okay,” Nora said. “Unless he pays really well.”
“We just share all the money.” Daisy’s lip trembled. “Or at least we did. I don’t know what to do. I hold his whole life together. Plus, if I don’t keep the job, I won’t have enough money to maintain the mortgage. There aren’t any divorce papers; he just left. I don’t have a timeline. I don’t know how much child support I’m going to get.”
“I’m a freelance writer and artist,” Nora reminded her, and herself at the same time.
She’d never faced the potential reality of what life would look like without Ben’s dentist salary, but it suddenly felt very heavy.
Ben had left for his solo trip to South America three weeks ago, to stay at a wellness retreat in Chile, and she’d let it stop there in her mind. He was going to sort himself out. He’d been working for years—doing school, establishing his practice—and he needed time to himself. It had seemed reasonable.
She suddenly realized all the practicalities she hadn’t considered.
Like if he decided he didn’t want to come home.
Where would that leave her?
She wouldn’t be able to afford their mortgage, and if he decided to not pay it ...
The anger she felt at herself right then was swift and judgmental.
She’d been like a frog, boiled slowly in the promise of Ben, and she’d lost her cynicism.
She’d done the right things.
She’d gone to school. She had a degree; she’d majored in English and minored in art. She could teach at a school if she wanted to, but she’d never done that. They’d lived modestly, and then Ben had finished dental school and graduated without loans, thanks to his parents. They’dalmost immediately started making a decent income, and Nora, who’d always had to be independent and protect herself fiercely, had never had to worry about anything since being with him.
Somehow along the way she’d convinced herself she was taken care of.
She had a career, sure.
But that career wasn’t a steady paycheck. Her unstable childhood should have served as a warning. Sheshouldhave known better than this all along. Hadn’t her own mother taught her anything?
“There’s no way I’ll be able to keep the house,” Soraya said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I ...”
“We’ll think of something,” Nora said.
Her irritation with Soraya suddenly felt petty.
Daisy and Soraya had been totally screwed over by the men who were supposed to care about them more than anything else.
As for Nora, she wasn’t as secure as she’d thought.
On that they were united, even if there were a lot of other things that divided them.
“Thank you.” Soraya finished the rest of her wine. She had barely taken a bite of her salad. “I don’t have an appetite right now.”
“Can’t relate,” Nora said, polishing off the last of her fries.
“I just want to eat my feelings,” Daisy said.
“I can’t,” Soraya said. “My feelings sit in my stomach like a giant ball of lead. I was a good wife.”
They were all quiet for a moment. Because the truth was, they had all been good wives. Nora was sure of that.
