A dark hollowing had formed under her eyes. Tracy had barely shut her eyes and it was already half past five in the morning. Scenes from her previous day's encounter with Charles would not stop flashing in her eyes.
Everything had happened so fast and now she was left in a state of wonder. "When did Charles sign the divorce papers?" She thought.
His busy schedule would not permit him to commit to so many sheets of paper at a sitting. Then it dawned on her that Charles had planned his move a long time ago.
She got out of her bed and kept staring at how empty it was. Her wish was for her husband to share her bed with her. But Charles never beckoned to any of that. He would rather sleep in the guest room.
For a second she forgot herself and lifted a vase next to her bed with her wounded right hand. Immediately she felt pain and dropped the vase. Her wound had not healed completely. Blood stained the bandage wrapped around her right hand.
The sound of the shattering vase invited Mrs Briggs to her doorstep.
"My child, is everything okay?" She asked from outside the door. "Everything is fine, Mrs Briggs. You can go back to sleep." She assured her and sat on the edge of the bed and stretched her left hand to get an extra bandage as the blood kept getting deeper.
Then she saw the wedding ring on her wedding finger. She had not taken it off yet.
The sight of the ring sent tears streaming down her face. “It is too early for this. Stop crying,” she mumbled to herself. “You are no longer married to him. He is a free man. Now put yourself together” she convinced herself.
She went to the washroom and fixed her bandage and stopped the blood from getting deeper.
From across the street, she could see some people walking their dogs and others jogging. An indication that the day was fast-breaking. But what was she supposed to do? She thought.
Tracy was confused and pacing about in her room. Then she chanced on the locket she had seen the day before. It had a picture of her late parents embedded in it.
As though she was possessed. Immediately she felt some new energy. “What would you do if you were in my place?” she asked the photo of her late parents embedded in the locket. “I am confused and I don't know what to do at this point” she kept pleading.
After minutes of talking to the locket, she decided she wanted to leave the Parker house. And started to pack her things. The pain from her right hand made her struggle. But her mind was made up at this point. Tracy packed all that she would need and left behind anything that would remind her of Charles. Or their marriage.
The sun started to invade her space through the window. But she was all set to leave. As she took a last look at her room and made her way towards the door, she was startled by a knock.
“Who is there?” she asked. “It is me, Mrs. Briggs. I brought you breakfast,” she announced. Tracy opened the door and greeted her with the news. “Oh, Mrs. Briggs it is you. Good morning.”
“Good morning my child. I trust you had a good night's sleep” she responded. “I wish I did, but that is fine. And oh, there is no need for this breakfast Mrs Briggs. I am leaving.” she announced.
“You are leaving? What do you mean you are leaving my child?” she queried as the tray in her hands began to shake.
“I have decided to leave this house and move to another. I do not think I belong here anymore. Please excuse me. And do not try to convince me otherwise, please” she said and reached for her bag with her left hand. Mrs Briggs looked on as she walked away toward the hall. In a bid to shut her door locked, she could see traces of the broken vase in her room.
As Tracy approached the hall, she could hear exchanges between Charles and his father.
“Those words you said about Tracy yesterday were not only in bad taste but projected you as a sociopath” Mr Edward Parker scolded him. “I do not care about any of that, Dad. That lady was never a wife material, at least in my estimation. I did not say anything wrong yesterday. Whatever I said about her, she deserved it.” he shot back. “It is too early in the day for this,” he added.
“I do not mean to interrupt any of this,” Tracy announced her presence as she got closer to them. “This is not a good morning but a bad one and I do not have any plans of making it any worse” she mumbled.
“To cut to the chase, here is your ring Charles,” she said and dropped her wedding ring on the coffee table closer to Charles. “And also, I want you to know that I do not want anything from you from this day forward. Thus, the monetary benefits that come with this separation are of no interest to me. You may keep all of that.” she added and turned to Charles’ father.
“Mr Edward Parker! A man I revere and regard as my guardian. If words were enough, they’d be all I’d say to you to register my gratitude for everything you have done for me. But I dare say that no amount of words in this world could substitute for your benevolence. Thank you for everything once again” she praised him as Mrs. Briggs watched from a distance with tears rolling down her face.
“I am a lady today because you took a chance with me. And for that, I am eternally grateful. But I must leave now, sir.” she announced.
“Leave? My child, it has not come to this. I will make this work” He said as Charles kept making faces in reaction to his father's utterance.
“That would not be necessary, please. I have to go now,” she said and dragged her bag along the hallway till she was lost in sight.
Mrs Briggs rushed to the entrance of the house to talk her out of her decision, but her mind was made up for good. She ignored her plea and exited the Parker house.
***
The night before, Charles had gone to an exclusive lounge with his friends. He was excited and jumping about. His behaviour got his friends curious and they wondered what they were celebrating.
They had not seen him gulp so much alcohol down his throat. “Easy man. Are you sure everything is okay?” Chris asked. “I'm a good man. I am super good,” he assured his friend.
Albert and Lorenzo watched on as Charles kept drinking. Then he revealed that he had got a divorce from Tracy.
“What!” Albert and Chris screamed. “You did what?” they repeated. “Did I have a drink in my mouth? You heard me right. I have divorced Tracy” he confidently shouted.
“But what on earth would make you do that?” asked Chris. And just as he was about to respond, Leonardo cut in. “Come on guys. Take it easy on him. What is wrong if he decided to separate from Tracy?”
“My goodness. Can you hear yourself speak?” Albert cut in. “Everything is wrong with this move and that is a fact,” he added.
“Guys! Guys! Come on. This is not the time for any of this. let‘s just drink up” Charles said. He was getting tipsy at this point.
“Drink up to what exactly? I am very much disappointed in you Charles.” Chris bellowed. “To think that you had a lady of Tracy’s calibre and you just throw it out the window?” he fumed.
“Why are you taking this personally? Were you the one married to her?” Leonardo rudely interrupted. “If she tickles your fancy, why not go after her now that she is a free woman,” he added.
“Gosh! What the hell is wrong with you Leonardo.” Chris shot back. “Our friend has made such a terrible mistake and you dare take his side?” he lashed at him once more and snatched a bottle of whisky from Charles who was at this point not very much aware of his environment.
“Why are we raising our voices in the first place? The bone of contention here is not even mentally present as we argue. But this conversation is not over Leonardo. Do you hear me? It is not over.” Chris warned and held Charles's hand from getting any more drinks.
“There is nothing to be said after today, Chris, so say whatever you have to say.” Leonardo pushed further. But Charles’ state would not permit Chris to argue any further with Leonardo.
Albert held one arm of Charles and Chris held the other as they made their way out of the lounge with their friend. Leonardo was left alone.
And he pushed the drinks on the table onto the floor.
The morning sun had shone its brightness heralding the dawn of a new day. The birds chirped in unison across the sky earmarking the goodness of the day.Broad smiles elevated the looks on the faces of people walking the streets of Purple City. A sign that it was a good day. But inside the Parker house, the story was different. The day was far from good. The past few days have been filled with pain and disappointment. And Tracy’s exit from the Parker house made Mr Parker worried. A lady he considered his daughter had left his house even before he could talk her out of her decision. Everything had happened so fast that he wondered why Tracy left without first consulting him. But his son Charles was to be blamed gravely for the turn of events.He stood in the living room looking at his son. The kind of look that registered anger, disappointment and betrayal.His son had not only betrayed his trust but also set their family up for public ridicule.“Oh. Charles! You disappoint me.” Mr Pa
The day could not have been any worse. And nature seemed to agree with the turn of events. The sun had dimmed and the morning felt like night time. The birds were lost in sight and it looked like there would be rainfall.But that was just the clouds sending a message. This same outlook had formed years ago when Tracy was admitted to the hospital. She had fallen into a pool. But for the timely rescue of Charles, she would have drowned to death. And while on admission at the hospital, the clouds formed and what felt like an earth tremor shook the hospital building."Fifty million dollars, fifty million dollars," said Tracy repeatedly while unconscious. Her eyes were closed and she kept turning in the hospital bed. Louisa had called 911 when she did not respond earlier. She stood behind a glass window as she watched her friend struggle on the hospital bed. Louisa ran her hand through her hair and consistently asked the doctor whether her friend would be okay. She was asked to c
Charles drove aimlessly across the city for three hours. He was pondering over his actions for the past few days. And the words of his friends kept ringing in his head. "I dare say that you are to be blamed for everything that happened, Charles. And I'm not saying this to make you feel bad, but to let you see how unwise you have been." He recalled Albert's words."Albert does have a point, Charles. You caused all this. Don't take our words out of context. But Tracy has been an epitome of wife material." Chris' words also echoed.For a second, he thought his friends had a point. He had been foolish and threw an asset out the window. It was midday and Charles was still haunted by his friend's words. The words of his father and Mrs Briggs equally took over a part of his brain.It was as though pandemonium had broken out in his brain. He may be tough and stubborn, but the damage his actions have caused had him in a tight corner and now he wanted to escape from everything.But having no
Charles’ left leg was swollen due to the bite. The excruciating pain made him bite the pillow on his bed when the doctor attended to him. Initially, the doctor had wanted to administer anaesthetics to kill the pain, but he opposed it. Thus, the doctor warned that he could not scream since that could increase the stress levels of other patients. Hours passed and he was feeling much better. And that got him thinking he was fit to walk again. But before he could put his right foot ahead of the left, he was down on the floor.“Charles!” Fiona screamed. She had been sitting in the visitor's area for hours. And so when the doctor announced that she could see him, she wasted no time in going to his ward. “What were you trying to do?” she asked while helping him get back onto his bed. “You are not fit just yet,” she added. And finally helped him to lie back on his bed.Charles gazed at her for a moment and forgot about his pain. But when his father walked in, his senses were realigned and
Tracy had arrived much earlier for her appointment with the doctor. The news of Charles’ accident left her helpless and restless the previous night. She had hoped for the faster break of dawn. And so when she sighted the rise of the early morning sun, she wasted no time in getting ready for her appointment. Louisa accompanied her. The two had left in a cab since they both did not have a car of their own yet.Before Tracy got married to Charles, Mr Parker suggested on so many occasions for her to choose any car of her choice and it would be bought for her. But Tracy always said it was pointless since there were many cars in the Parker house and many drivers who were at their beck and call. Mr Parker insisted once more when she got married to Charles. But her stance had not changed. She would rather go to the office or other places seated in the back seat while one of the many drivers took the wheel.When Mr Parker realized she did not care for a personal car, he advised that the le
“My child, you deserve every pint of happiness in this life. You have fought a good fight and in my estimation, you won. So cry no more” Mrs Briggs said.And hugged Tracy who was tearing up uncontrollably. “He was my world. And I loved him with every fibre of my being. How I wish we had not ended up this way” Tracy told Mrs Brigss in a trembling voice, but she cut her, “Your happiness is equally paramount my child. Like I said, you fought a good fight and you won.”“He does not deserve you,” she added. Her remarks came after Louisa had narrated everything that happened at the hospital to her. Tracy was calm and took Mrs Briggs' words to heart. She had indeed fought a good fight. Everybody knew she had wanted to be with Charles despite his lack of interest in their marriage. As Tracy paced about in the room, Mrs Briggs who had her right finger on her right chin said, “My child, enough of Charles. It is about time you put yourself in the spotlight”“I have watched you grow from a lit
“Gracious morning to the love of my life. Charles, you make me happy.”Charles wore a smile in his dream. The sound of those words from Tracy’s lips felt soothing in his ears. Tracy never missed a chance to make him know how she was in love with him. Charles did not return Tracy’s show of affection for him in his dream but kept smiling.At once, the alarm clock went off. It was his call to wake up. “Tracy, snooze the alarm. Tracy, did you hear me? Please, snooze the alarm. I want to sleep a little longer today, it’s the weekend.” Charles sobbed in his sleep. “Tracy!”Charles opened his eyes and realized he was calling Tracy’s name. Immediately, he got up from the bed and sat in a chair at the tail end of his bed. He began wondering why he was calling Tracy’s name and asking her to snooze the alarm clock. Besides, the only time they both shared the same bed was during the early days of their marriage when they had to pretend and sleep in the same room just to make everyone believe
Charles was about to leave for the house when a call came through. He had been left confused over the separation from Tracy. He still could not fathom that Tracy had said nothing about him when Rupert went to hand her the divorce certificate. But he was the one who wanted a divorce, a voice echoed in his head.In his confusion, he felt his frame of mind would not yield a productive day so he packed to go home. Besides, in his absence, his assistant, Rupert and Stacy had instructed the other workers to work in line with his commands. So there was not much to be done at work.“Hello, hello,” Charles said, but the caller was not responding.He ended the call and went back to clearing his desk before going home. The call came through again and this time the caller said something and revealed his identity. It was Chris who had called with a different number. He told Charles he wanted to meet him at his house. The tone of Chris' voice sounded like a father who was scolding his son.“Co