“Ah, here’s the dress! Are you saying I threw it in there?” Emily exclaimed, her expression changing as she opened the trash bin.
Emily found herself asking the same question almost every day but couldn’t seem to find an answer: what did she see in Marcus?
He wasn’t much to look at, and she was too embarrassed to introduce him to her friends, so they assumed she still lived alone.
Her only confidant was her sister, who kept Emily’s relationship a secret.
Marcus didn’t exactly have stars in his eyes either; he worked as a mechanic at a steel factory.
Sometimes, as Emily sat watching TV at home, she thought it might be time to end things with Marcus.
However, just when she was about to, he would surprise her with flowers or some other gift, and she would delay the breakup indefinitely.
Before meeting Emily, Marcus had already been married. His marriage lasted just two months but resulted in a pregnancy, giving him a daughter.
When Emily met Marcus, his daughter was twelve. Until recently, Emily had never met the girl and wasn’t eager to change that.
She got an unexpected chance to do so right before her birthday, which she planned to celebrate with her friends.
“Em,” Marcus said sheepishly, “my ex-wife has to travel for work and wants me to take our daughter…”
“For how long?” Emily grimaced, not wanting that kind of surprise for her birthday.
“A month…”
“Why so long?” she frowned. “I hope she realizes her daughter needs money for food.”
“If you’re talking about money, she didn’t send any,” Marcus said, throwing up his hands helplessly.
“As far as I remember, you pay child support. So, the girl will stay for a whole month while her mother lives it up on that money?”
“There isn’t much to splurge with, you know my salary,” Marcus chuckled involuntarily.
“How do you even imagine having her stay here?” Emily fumed, increasingly realizing she didn’t want someone else’s child with them for that long. “You have to drive her to school, look after her. Why are you taking on this responsibility?”
“Well, I am Darcey’s father,” Marcus answered, puzzled. “Are you saying I should have turned her away?”
“You should remember you don’t live alone, that’s one. Two, this is my place, and you should have asked me before agreeing. Three, my birthday is coming up, and I don’t want anything spoiling it!” Emily declared decisively.
“I don’t think my daughter will be a problem,” Marcus said, embarrassed, feeling the sting of accusation.
“And I’m sure things will go off track,” Emily said, crossing her arms defiantly.
But Marcus assured her not to set herself up for disappointment.
The next day, a chubby-cheeked girl with heavy makeup looking no younger than sixteen arrived at Emily’s apartment.
Casting a sidelong glance at Emily, the girl ignored her and turned to Marcus.
“Where will I sleep?”
“On the kitchen sofa,” Marcus smiled awkwardly.
The girl rolled her eyes and dashed to the bathroom to sob.
“What was that?” Emily snapped at Marcus. “What a rude and ungrateful child. I’m glad I’m having my birthday at a café. By the way, you’re not coming.”
“What? Why?” Marcus was taken aback. “I thought you’d finally introduce me to your friends. We’ve been living together for over six months…”
“You’ll be here with your daughter,” Emily quickly justified, relieved not to introduce him to friends whose partners were athletic and dashing.
“Got it,” Marcus grumbled, wounded, and fell silent.
The next day began with Emily bustling about in preparation for her birthday.
Early in the morning, she ironed her cocktail dress, hanging it up ready for the evening.
Marcus remained silent, not even wishing Emily a happy birthday.
Choosing not to ruin her mood, Emily pretended not to notice his sulkiness.
After work, she stopped by home to change and was horrified to find her dress missing.
“Where’s my dress?” Emily burst into the kitchen, finding Darcey sprawled out on the fold-out bed.
The girl pointedly ignored her, fiddling idly with her phone.
“Do you hear me?” Emily charged over and snatched the phone from her hands.
“Give it back!” Darcey screamed, causing Marcus to rush in.
“What’s going on?” Marcus asked, eyes wide. “Give her back the phone!”
“Where’s my dress?” Emily demanded through clenched teeth.
“I didn’t take anything,” the girl sneered. “She’s just making stuff up because she doesn’t like me.”
“Return the phone, you heard her,” Marcus said sternly.
“Sure, like she’d admit it!” Emily exclaimed, throwing the phone to the floor.
The screen cracked on impact, and Darcey burst into tears. Emily left the room with her head held high, needing something to wear for the café.
Grabbing the first decent outfit she found, she changed and left to celebrate her birthday.
It was there Emily could focus and make the decision to break up with Marcus.
Emily returned to the apartment in the early morning. Hearing her enter, Marcus got out of bed.
“Do you know what time it is?”
“You trying to be the strict husband now? Too late. I’ve decided we’re done,” Emily stated abruptly. “You need to move out in the morning.”
“So now I’m the bad guy after all this?” Emily laughed mirthlessly.
“You broke Darcey’s phone…”
“She took my dress!” Emily grated out through her teeth.
“My daughter didn’t touch it!” Marcus’s eyes flared. “I can vouch for that!”
Emily made a face, waving off his excuses.
To calm herself, she reached into the cupboard for an unfinished bottle of wine.
Taking a sip, she suddenly spat it up, grimacing.
“What is this? Shampoo? Are you saying I poured that too?” Emily laughed sarcastically, opening the trash bin with a changed look on her face. “Oh, here’s the dress! Are you saying I threw it in there?”
“You were looking for a reason to leave! I know you’ve wanted to for a while!” Marcus shouted. “Without me, you’d have done it a long time ago!”
Emily raised an eyebrow in surprise, remembering those moments well.
“I bugged the room. I’ve heard everything you discussed with your sister about me, I know everything!” Marcus declared pompously.
“Well, that’s news! And I always wondered how you knew I wanted to break it off!” Emily was shocked, thinking of the numerous conversations she’d had with her sister, friends, and parents. “Let’s say goodbye!”
This time, Marcus didn’t try to convince her to stay together. He knew their relationship had reached its inevitable conclusion.
