Claire stood and walked toward the window. She pressed her fingertips against the frame. "That may be the thing I hate most today." "I know."
She turned. "Don't say that." "Right. Sorry."
"You spent money we were setting aside to try to have a child on hotel rooms with someone else. Do you understand why I may never be able to look at you the same way?" "Yes." "And you kept trying to have a baby with me while sleeping with her."
"Yes." "Was that because you wanted a baby or because acting normal made it easier to hide?" Ethan's face crumpled. "I wanted a baby with you."
Claire stared at him.
"I know how horrible that sounds now," he said. "But I did. I kept separating everything in my head. You were my life. Vanessa was...
I don't know. Escape. Attention. Something that didn't have history attached to it."
"She was a person." "I know." "And I was a person." "I know."
"You turned both of us into functions." He looked down at his hands. That was as close to an explanation as Claire expected to get.
She did not forgive him that afternoon. She did not ask him to come home. She told him to take enough clothing for a month and to stay with his parents or rent an apartment. She asked for access to every joint financial account and told him she would meet with an attorney, not because she had decided to divorce immediately but because she needed to understand her options before making any decisions.
Ethan agreed to everything. Before he left, he paused by the empty space where the cake table had been. "I keep seeing it fall," he said. Claire followed his gaze. "So do I."
"It felt like..." "Don't turn the cake into a metaphor," she said. He gave the smallest, saddest nod. "Okay."
After he left, Mason came into the living room carrying two coffees. "How'd it go?" Claire took one cup. "He told the truth, I think."
"That's something." "It's a very low bar." "Still a bar." Claire sat on the sofa.
"Do you think I'm weak if I don't decide right now?" Mason looked genuinely offended by the question. "No."
"Everyone acts like cheating has one correct response. Pack his things. File tomorrow. Never look back."
"You can do that if you want." "And if I don't?" "Then you don't." Claire looked at him.