The Reckoning
Chapter 4
Two days and a few boxes later, it was time for the weekly coffee meet-up at Amanda’s house again. Margery arrived late, balancing three cappuccinos in one hand and a bag of muffins in the other, while Amanda was rolling.
“You’ve been quiet these past few days,” Amanda said, her tone light but sharp.
“I’m sorting out practical stuff,” Kas replied. “Talking to accountants, billing companies…. It gives me something to do. Makes me not think.”
Amanda leaned in. “I know. But you have to feel it, too. If you bottle this up, it’ll come back harder.” Margery nodded in agreement.
Kassandra’s jaw tightened. “I just don’t understand,” Kas whispered. “We went from ‘You’re the woman of my life, marry me’… to ‘We’re not compatible.’”.
“Your instinct” Margery said firmly. “He proposed three times. Pressured you to move in together. Pressured you about your time with us. Got jealous when you went out. You always knew deep down.”
Amanda scoffed. “And now, he has the nerve to text you the morning after, like nothing happened!” Her voice was rising. “He needs to disappear! He took enough from you.”
Kas wiped away new tears.
“I’m falling,” she whispered. Her voice barely made it out.
She steadied herself. Took one last drag of her cigarette; then looked at Margery.
“How have you been doing?”
Margery smirked. “We had another fight. Now he says you take up too much of my time.” She said, locking eyes with Kas.
They all burst into laughter.
“The sex with Tim is getting better, though,” Margery added casually.
Tim was a mutual friend of both Margery and her husband, William. And Margery had been sleeping with him almost since day one. Where William lacked, Tim delivered.
Kas and Amanda had warned her. This won’t end well.
The kicker? Tim was the one who introduced Margery to William. And now, their “breathers” often took place at work, and today Margery shared their latest escapade in the boiler room.
Kas warned her again. This was dangerous territory. “You’re on thin ice”.
Tim ticked all the boxes William didn’t. William believed relationships ran on autopilot. Margery, on the other hand, was a deeply emotional and sensual person who needed connection often, and with intensity.
So, Margery had Tim.
She was falling for him, of course, but would never admit it. She insisted she needed the breather, even if she refused to admit she was falling for Tim.
Amanda was more pragmatic. “Maybe,” she said, “Tim could fill what William couldn’t.”.
Another cigarette circled. Now, Amanda took center stage.
“There was a big meeting yesterday. I’ll have to work closely with David now.” She said.
David — the man.
Another office story.
Kassandra raised an eyebrow. “Gosh, another one from work! You two need to get out more”, she joked.
Amanda rolled her eyes. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next one.”
David had been circling her for months. Power plays, subtle glances, heat in the room..
Yesterday, they’d ended up alone in the office. The silence gave them false liberty. He got bold.
Amanda had fled to the bathroom to calm herself, but he was smart; he followed.
They bumped into each other.
Eyes locked. Breaths short.
And he kissed her. They collided, literally, and everything shifted. The kiss was inevitable.
Amanda melted just remembering. She flushed at the thought.
But the guilt crept in. Harry, her husband of almost seven years and partner for almost fifteen, felt farther and farther away.
The friction between Harry and Amanda felt raw, open. The distance between them grew; and David found that opening.
Kassandra’s warning was sharp. “You are on a dangerous path. He’s married too. This gets dark fast.”
Amanda nodded. She knew it all, both Kassandra and Margery were sure of it. But the fog of the passion made her unable to resist going in and exploring.
They had met at noon. Now it was past ten. They agreed to another midweek meet up to regroup.
Kas headed home, with a faint shred of hope that she would sleep.
But the gods weren’t on her side, AGAIN.
It was time. She had to start splitting the life they have built together. The souvenirs. The memories…
Kassandra loved travelling, and they have done a lot of it. She had kept a small token from each place. They had decorated them together on the shelves of their small library.
They had a tradition; they’d steal a small thing from every place they visited. Silly, sentimental. Their last loot was a teacup Kas fell in love with, in a small Portuguese pastry shop; and he put it in his jacket for her instantly.
Her chest caved in. Her eyes filled with tears.
She couldn’t keep going.
She cried herself to sleep that night.