The Bottom of the Sea

Part 17: Devastation

We walked into a maelstrom.

That's the only way I could describe the place. It was like a tornado had ripped through the living room. Missy sat in the middle of the mess, her back up against the couch. She'd stopped crying, but her eyes were red and puffy. She was sipping pinot grigio straight from the bottle.

"I'll kill him," Jake said, his hands balled into fists. "OK, that's what we don't need right now — aggressive male energy," I shot at him, then went to her side. "Missy, what happened?"

"It's so much, I don't even know where to begin." Her eyes filled with fresh tears. My happy friend was completely devastated, and I could guess why. She was struggling to find the words, so I filled in the gaps as best I could.

"Julian left?" I said it as gently as I could. She nodded. "He did this first?" I looked around at Missy's once-immaculate dining room. Tables were upended, chairs were knocked over and there was broken glass everywhere.

"No. I did." She fished a tissue out of her sleeve and wiped her nose. "When he left, I just lost it. I was so angry before, but now I'm just exhausted. I didn't think I had it in me."

"Neither did I," Jake said, looking around. He sat on the other side of her. "Why would Julian do this to you and Simon?"

Her eyes narrowed, rage flashing across her pretty face like lightening. "Because he's been screwing his teaching assistant. She's pregnant. He's leaving us for her." She blew her nose. "I feel so stupid. Nobody liked him — my parents didn't like him and neither did you." She poked Jake in the chest. "I never listen, and I never learn."

"Ow! No, I never did. But you can't blame yourself for any of this," Jake rubbed the spot where she jabbed him.

Missy was a wonderful mother and a kind and giving person. She didn't deserve this. No one did.

"How did you find out?" Jake put his arm around her, and I started cleaning up shards of a broken vase. "Leave it,' Missy said sharply. "All of this stuff is his. He never let me decorate the way I wanted, he had to be the boss of everything. Fuck him."

I knew how that felt. I picked up a sapphire-blue ceramic dish. and raised my eyebrows in a question. "That's a 16th century plate he brought back from the Middle East. It's worth about a thousand dollars," she said.

"Oops," I let it slip from my fingers, enjoying its satisfying smash on the hardwood floor. I was happy to see a brief flash of a smile when I sat back down beside her.

"It's so bad, you guys. I found some receipts in his pants, his 'academic conference' was a week in Aruba with her. He wants Simon and me out of here, he's selling all of our properties and moving to Toronto with this...this...woman." she said, sobs shaking her small shoulders. "He doesn't even care about what this will do to Simon."

"Whoah, language. Easy there, Missy," Jake said. "Whoever she is, she doesn't deserve to be called that." Missy glared up at him for a second, and then shook her head. "Jerk," she said, punching him in the arm before resting her head on his shoulder and letting out a shuddery sigh. I could see the easy friendship they had, their warm give-and-take, like siblings. As long as Missy had Jake, she would be alright. He was being very sweet with her and I could see her calming down the more she talked with him. Watching them together made me like him even more.

"You and Simon will just have to live with me. End of story," he said.

"Oh yeah. An emotionally shattered, unemployable single mom and a six-year old. That won't cramp your bachelor style at all."

"Fuck that. You're staying with me and that's that."

Missy lifted her head. "That's nice of you, but we can't — even if it wasn't a pity offer. You live on the outskirts of town and I need to be close to Simon's daycare. Now that I'm on my own, I'm going to have to give up my part-time job and look for something that pays more." I recognized the look of panic on her face and understood her predicament far more that I would have before I was pregnant. It was one thing to worry about yourself. Having another little person who depended on you totally created some next-level anxiety. Mine hadn't even been born yet, and I fretted constantly about how I was going to give my little one a good life.