“Remember, James, we got divorced a month ago. Did you forget?”
“Catherine, are you aware that today is your last day in my house?” she reminded him.
“What? Already?”
“Yes, why does that surprise you? We agreed you’d sort out your flat by the 26th of May, and until then, you could stay here.”
“Time sure does fly…”
The truth was, James and Catherine had parted ways a month back. But her ex-husband had nowhere to go. He just couldn’t find suitable accommodation. Or maybe he wasn’t trying hard enough? That’s another question entirely.
“Don’t try to distract me. You’re moving out tomorrow!”
“But where to?”
“I don’t know. That’s no longer my problem.”
James quickly jumped up from the chair.
“How can you say that, Catherine? We’re still family.”
“We? There’s no ‘us’ anymore. We divorced a month ago. Did you forget?”
“I’m telling you, time flies so quickly.”
“Once again, stop trying to distract me.”
In reality, James truly had nowhere else to turn. His friends had drifted apart, and some had turned out to be quite unpleasant people.
His relatives lived out of town, and crashing at acquaintances’ places wasn’t an option. What was he supposed to do now? His only hope was to convince Catherine.
Even though one could sleep at a train station, there was another reason why her ex-husband didn’t want to leave the apartment.
“You know, I held out hope till the very last moment.”
“For what?”
“That we’d be together again.”
Catherine laughed loudly at this, clearly hitting a nerve with James.
“Did I say something funny?”
“Don’t you find it funny?”
“Not at all.”
“But I do. Stop acting like a child and causing drama. We’re grown-ups, after all.”
“Exactly! That’s why I want to have an adult-like discussion. Catherine, you must understand, we divorced over something trivial.”
His ex-wife raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Do you think that constantly lying to someone is trivial?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“I get what you’re saying.”
“No, that’s not it! We acted rashly, these things happen. Catherine, we can start over. Please!”
Catherine was taken aback by this. She couldn’t understand whether her ex-husband was losing his mind or if he truly had nowhere else to live.
“I said stop messing with my head. Pack your things. You’re leaving this apartment tomorrow.”
Yet, James refused to relent. He kept standing his ground, bringing up new and bizarre arguments. One of his reasons was absolutely absurd!
“Don’t you understand? I’ve remained faithful to you!”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that since our divorce, I haven’t been with anyone else.”
Catherine put her head in her hands. Clearly, James was losing his mind.
“And why should I care? Frankly, I’m not interested in who you’re sleeping with!”
“But it matters to me. I can’t be with anyone else, Catherine, only you… And I can’t even be with you now… Because…”
Catherine cut him off.
“Okay, stop right there.”
She grabbed her things and headed out for a walk, determined to avoid seeing James.
Actually, she had planned to divorce him for a while. But she kept postponing it because of some lingering affection. They had been together for five years, and it was hard to make such a decision.
However, her husband’s constant lies about his work were unsettling. He’d often lie about promotions, claiming he had landed prestigious positions, but in reality, he remained an average manager with a salary of 2000 Pounds a month. This was the final straw in their relationship.
Why did he lie? It was incomprehensible!
Catherine pondered this throughout the evening. She didn’t want to return home, so she decided to stay with a friend. Naturally, James blew up her phone with calls, but she had no intention of picking up or explaining herself to him.
“I don’t get it, Catherine. Why are you playing Mother Teresa?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about your James. You’re the one who let him stay. No wonder he refuses to leave now.”
“I know, I realize I made a mistake. But I can’t just throw him onto the street…”
“You’re planning to kick him out tomorrow, right? Or not?”
“I will. Because I always keep my word.”
“Regrets?”
“No, nothing to regret. I’m not throwing out a child, just a grown man who can handle his own life.”
The next day, Catherine returned home but saw no sign of her ex-husband’s suitcase at the door.
“You’re still here?”
“Catherine! Where were you?” James exclaimed.
“That’s none of your business now.”
“Were you staying with a man?”
“I’m telling you again: it’s not your concern! Pack your things and get out of here!”
James began circling around his ex-wife.
“Catherine, listen, I honestly can’t deal with this. I was worried about you!”
“Enough! Leave, I said.”
But James seemed immune to her words or pretended not to hear her.
“I’ve stayed faithful to you, don’t you understand?”
Catherine realized this conversation was pointless and leading nowhere.
“You have five minutes. Otherwise, I’m calling the police.”
James didn’t believe her, so Catherine had to follow through on her promise. Her ex-husband was swiftly shown the door with his belongings. He hadn’t any ownership in the flat and wasn’t registered there.
Luckily, Catherine had inherited the apartment. She didn’t even want to imagine what could have happened if they jointly owned it.
In that situation, James would never have moved out. Why would he? He always had his ironclad excuse ready: he was the faithful ex-husband.
