“Remember, Tommy, we split up a month ago. Have you forgotten?”
“Tom, did you forget that today is your last day living in my house?” asked Lisa.
“What do you mean? Already?”
“Yes, and why does that surprise you? We agreed that by May 26th you’d sort out your living arrangements, and until then, you could stay here.”
“Time has flown by so fast…”
The issue was that Tom and Lisa had divorced a month earlier, but her ex-husband had nowhere to live. He couldn’t find suitable accommodation. Or perhaps he wasn’t making much effort? That’s another question entirely.
“Don’t try to sweet-talk your way out of this. You’re moving out tomorrow!”
“But where to?”
“I don’t know. That’s no longer my problem.”
Tom immediately jumped up from the chair.
“How can you do this, Lisa? We’re family.”
“We? No, there’s no ‘we’ anymore. Remember, we split up a month ago. Have you forgotten?”
“I’m telling you, time really flies.”
“Once again… don’t try to sweet-talk me.”
Tom truly had nowhere to go. He had lost touch with his friends over the years, and some turned out to be not very pleasant people. His relatives lived in the countryside, and staying overnight with acquaintances wasn’t an option. What to do now? His only hope was to convince Lisa.
Even if he could somehow spend the night at a bus station, there was another reason he didn’t want to leave the flat.
“You know, I was hoping until the last moment…”
“For what?”
“That we might still be together.”
Lisa burst into laughter, which clearly upset Tom.
“Did I say something funny?”
“Don’t you find it amusing?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Well, I do. Stop acting like a clown and playing kindergarten games. We are adults, after all.”
“Exactly! Which is why I want to talk like adults. Lisa, understand, we broke up over something petty.”
Her raised eyebrow showed how surprised she was by his words.
“So constant lies are petty, in your opinion?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
“I think I understand you.”
“No, really! We overreacted; it happens. Lisa, we could start over. Please!”
Lisa was astonished. She couldn’t figure out if her ex-husband was losing his mind or if he genuinely had nowhere to go.
“I’m done with your excuses. Pack your things. You’re leaving tomorrow.”
But Tom didn’t back down. He kept arguing and bringing up new points. One of them was just absurd!
“Can’t you see, I’ve remained loyal to you!”
“What does that mean now?”
“Since our divorce, I haven’t been with anyone.”
Lisa grabbed her head. Clearly, Tom was starting to lose it.
“That’s none of my concern! Honestly, I couldn’t care less who you’re with!”
“But I do. I can’t be with anyone but you, Lisa. And even with you, I can’t… because…”
Lisa interrupted him.
“Okay, stop. Don’t continue.”
She gathered her things and went out for a walk, not wanting to see Tom anymore.
The truth was, she had planned to divorce him for a while. But she kept postponing because she felt somewhat sorry for him. After all, they had spent five years together, and it was a tough decision.
However, his constant lies troubled her. He lied about his job. He always made up stories about being promoted to a prestigious position by his manager, while in reality, he remained a regular employee with a salary of £2,000 a month. That was the last straw in their relationship.
Why lie? It made no sense!
Lisa pondered over this the entire evening. She didn’t want to go home, so she decided to stay at a friend’s place. Predictably, Tom bombarded her phone with calls. But she didn’t intend to answer or report back to him.
“I don’t get it, Lisa. What’s with this Mother Teresa act?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about your Tom. You shouldn’t have let it come to this. Now, he doesn’t want to leave.”
“Yeah, I realize that was foolish. But I can’t exactly kick him out onto the street…”
“You’ll have to kick him out tomorrow anyway. Won’t you?”
“I will, because I keep my promises.”
“Do you regret it?”
“No, there’s nothing to regret. I’m not kicking out a child, but a grown man who’s capable of sorting out his own life.”
The next day, Lisa came home but didn’t see her ex-husband’s suitcase by the door.
“You’re still here?”
“Lisa! Where have you been?” Tom exclaimed.
“None of your business.”
“Did you stay overnight with a man?”
“I’ll repeat myself: none of your business! Gather your things and get out of here!”
Tom began to hover around her.
“Lisa, listen, I really can’t do this. I was worried about you!”
“Enough! I said, out!”
But Tom acted as if he didn’t hear her. Or he pretended not to.
“I’m being faithful to you, don’t you understand?”
Lisa realized this conversation was pointless and would lead nowhere.
“You’ve got five minutes. Otherwise, I’m calling the police.”
Tom didn’t believe her, so Lisa did as she promised. Her ex-husband was quickly escorted out with his belongings because he had no legal claim to the flat and wasn’t registered there.
Luckily, Lisa had inherited the property. It was frightening to imagine what could’ve happened if the flat belonged to both of them.
Under such circumstances, Tom certainly wouldn’t have left. After all, he always had his ironclad argument: he was the faithful ex-husband.
