the truth will out

14. Meetings

"deep breaths jennifer"
"the quicker this is over the better" I mutter.
It's the first meeting to settle the divorce today, there's no paps around but my nerves are through the roof.
"thankyou" I say, trying to smile as a lady holds the door open for me and my lawyer Natalie as we enter.
I lift my sunglasses onto the top of my head, taking a deep breath as the cool breeze from the air conditioning hits me. We're running a little late so after politely accepting a bottle of water from someone in reception, me and Natalie are ushered into the meeting room.
As soon as we enter I go silent, my heart pumping in my ears, just seeing him across the table with his lawyer makes everything seem real for the first time, I'm in a situation I never dreamed I'd find myself in, least of all with him.
"hi" he says trying to be polite. I nod slightly, looking away, and take a seat.
It's the first of June today, the weather just seems to be getting hotter, I'm wearing flip flops, mom shorts and a white tank top and im still boiling.

"right so this is the first meeting to finalise the divorce of jennifer and brad pitt" says brads lawyer starting everything off. I take another deep breath, fidgeting in my seat slightly. Looking over I see brad staring before looking away.
"first we need to settle why you're getting a divorce, this is just for the paperwork" Natalie says looking between me and brad.
I look at brad, raising my eyebrows and pouting slightly, waiting for him to explain why this has happened.
After a minute of awkward silence I tut.
"well you all read the media so you already know pretty much what's happened but my darling soon to be ex husband here decided he loved another woman more than me" I force a sarcastic smile, cocking my head to the side as Brad clears his throat, staring intently at the table.
Natalie puts her hand on my arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze, whilst brads lawyer writes down the reason as 'irreconcilable differences'.
The rest of the meeting goes by painfully slow as they write down the details and take me and brad through what's going to be discussed in the meetings ahead of us before the final meeting in court.

"you know you didn't need to be so harsh in there" Natalie says as we walk towards our cars.
"he deserves it" I shrug.
"well..." she sighs exasperated "I'll see you for the second meeting next week. Let me know if you have any questions or whatever" she smiles as we hug.
"of course, thankyou Nat" I place my sunglasses back over my eyes and climb into the stuffy car.
I sit there in silence. Looking out of the side mirror I see brad leave the parking lot quickly, not a single glance towards me. Sighing, I slowly pull out of my parking spot.

One week later
"hi" I sigh as Natalie walks towards me, reaching her arms out for a quick hug.
"well you seem calmer than last week" she notes as we walk into the offices, this week actually on time.
"I'm trying" I mutter to her as we enter the meeting room, once again brad is already there.
I'm wearing ripped mom jeans today with white trainers, black tank top and the same sunglasses as last week even though I own about 10 different pairs.
As we sit I place my sunglasses on the desk, ruffling my hair slightly, only just realising now how much it needs a cut.
'that's not the thing to be focusing on right now Aniston' I tell myself as I tune into the conversation going on around me.
"now after this meeting we probably won't need many others because it'll be more between me and Natalie" says brads lawyer. Just knowing that I'm gonna be able to have a break from life and go back to the job i love for a while is so reassuring.

The meeting was another drag resulting in me and brad staying mostly silent the whole time as our lawyers discuss the settlement issues with the house and cars etc.

"I'll call you if I have questions or anything" I smile giving Natalie a proper hug as we stand just outside our meeting room.
I watch her walk out the reception then fumble in my bag for the car keys, also slowly heading towards the door.
"hey you need any help with that?"
I gasp not realising he was behind me.
"err no it's all good" I struggle again for several moments before I finally find them.
"so err... How've you been?" brad asks clearly trying to break the tension.
"excuse me?" I laugh looking up at him as we leave the building.
"I know... I just meant..." he trails off.
It's silent for a while as we slowly walk to where my car is.
"I've been better" I mumble refusing to look at him.
"I'm sorry" he mumbles back.
I take a deep breath, putting on a brave face as I smile at him, shaking my head.
"so... Have you been doing anything? Other than walking Norman constantly?" he says trying to make me laugh.
I look at him narrowing my eyes.
"what are you playing at here brad?" I sigh as we stop by my car, I lean against the door.
"n-nothing I was just trying to have a conversation" he stutters.
"did you think you could be all sympathetic and friendly and it'd make everything better?"
"n-no i-i" I stand there listening to him stutter, a slight smirk playing on my lips.
"I'm actually leaving for Chicago tonight" I say. I watch him intently, waiting for his reaction.
"how come?" he asks. I can feel the conversation start to become forced on his side. He was never good with small talk.
"It's a new project I got, you know just to keep me busy"
"that's good" he mutters, looking down at his shoes "what's it called?"
There's a pause. I didn't think this through. But then I remember everything I've been through. What do I have to lose? Nothing.
"Its called the breakup" I smile, making a point that I'm forcing it as I climb into the car. I don't say another word, just a slight wave of the hand as I pull out of the parking space.
I giggle as I look back in my side mirror to see him still stood there, his mouth slightly agape in shock.

"wow that must've felt good"
"oh it really did" I laugh.
Me, Chris and Angela are all in the car on the way to the airport and I've just finished telling them what happened earlier with me and brad in the parking lot.
"just seeing his face, it was like closure- well no closure would be seeing him embarrassed infront of the whole media, but nope that's just me" I smile slightly looking at my lap.
"awe babe don't be like that... Hey you never know there might be some good looking guys in Chicago" Chris laughs, nudging me with his elbow.
"well... I don't know about meeting anyone right now but it'll sure be nice to be in a new city for a change. New culture" I look out the window as we exit the freeway, wondering what it's going to be like filming again after everything that's happened.

The flight was a smooth one, I'm still terrified of flying which I don't think I'll ever get over, but I've brought normy with me so he kept me company the whole time.

"right I'll see you in the morning" Chris smiles as we get to my hotel room.
"goodnight hunny" I hug him, kissing his cheek as Norman runs in behind me.
"goodnight. Oh and don't forget Jason wants you to meet up with him some time tomorrow" Chris calls as he walks down the corridor to his room.
"oh yeah, thanks" I shout, smiling as I close the door.

I quickly take my makeup off and take off my pants leaving me in my tank top and underwear.
I climb under the covers, laying in the dark, Norman curled into my side.
I know we're only staying in this hotel for a couple of days until filming actually starts but I hate staying in trailers, it's like camping.
I drift off into a peaceful sleep, the city noise lulling me to sleep, reminding me of new york when I was a kid...