I went home, counted all my possessions, prepared my half, and transferred it all to Jasper.
I settled with him that when the day came that I was no more, of this money, a small portion would be taken out to buy me a better burial plot, and the rest, all of it, would be left to Everett.
Juliana’s child is born with inheritance rights, it’s a good one alright, if it’s a loser, it’s time for this money to be able to give Everett an extra way out.
That done, I notified Everett of the divorce, and only half an hour later he came back in a flurry.
The cold air still lingered on his black coat, and when he saw me, he blushed, “Your face …”
I know, my face is bloodless, I’m dying after all, normal.
Instead of responding to him, I got right to the point: “Get a divorce, I’ll move out, leave the house and company to you, and split the property in half.”
He froze in place and asked me, half incredulously, “Are you serious?”
I nodded and before I could say anything, he had rushed over to me in three steps and grabbed my wrist, “Isadora, what if I said that Juliana and I didn’t do it? Would you believe me?”
His eyes were serious and his brow was crimson.
I pursed my lips and asked rhetorically, “Everett, would you believe me if I said I was dying?”
He would be in place, emotions rolling over in his eyes, too complex to see clearly.
I laughed softly, “Look, you don’t believe it. I don’t believe it either.”
I moved, to a different house, I changed the combination lock so Everett couldn’t find me, and after that booked a flight abroad for a month.
With two months left, I can’t be around Everettall the time. I’m going to live for myself.
Jasper didn’t agree, but I went behind his back anyway.
What’s the point of lying in a hospital, it doesn’t extend my life much. It will just keep reminding me of this awful life.
Just as I was going through security, Everett’s voice suddenly came from behind me, “Isadora!”
He screamed my name at the top of his lungs and ran toward me, and even after all these years, you could still see a slight limp in his legs when he ran.
I pretended not to see it and turned my head into the waiting room.
Behind him, a security guard stopped Everett, and his raspy voice kept coming into his ears, “Get off me, that’s my wife! You guys get off me!”
Not long after, he started calling me. I didn’t answer it and with a little finger, I pulled the plug on him, there was really nothing more to say.
I played abroad for a month.
Once upon a time Everett had promised to take me, and I hadn’t had time to go anywhere, and I’d gone all by myself.
It’s just a shame that because I’m sick, I have to take medication every day, I can’t do this, I can’t eat that, and I don’t have much fun.
Jasper would call me a video every day and watch me take my meds in, then tell me to be safe and hurry back.
A month later, I embarked on a flight back home.
Jasper came to pick me up, and along the way, he kept asking me where I’d been and what pictures I’d taken; he was running out of words, trying to get me to talk more.
I knew that, so I replied with enthusiasm until it was time to go home, when Jasper carried my suitcase up the steps with his head down and asked with a smile, “Peace of mind this time, so you can be properly hospitalized, right?”
Instead, I had frozen in place, unable to speak.
In front of the door, Everett stood there quietly, looking at Jasper and then at me, like an abandoned kitten. After a while, his voice choked, “Isadora, don’t you want me?”