She hurried to the car and buckled herself into the passenger seat. A dull ache began to build behind her eyes, the result of the tension always in the air between them. Leaning her head back, she prayed for a moment of quiet peace. Raindrops spattered against the windshield, a waterfall parted by the regular motion of the windshield wipers. A good representation of her life, a curtain falling, parting momentarily, then dropping back in place like a shroud.
She felt the anger vibrating from Charles as he navigated the wet streets and traffic. In the nearly ten years of their marriage, he’d become steadily more dictatorial, more autocratic, more controlling. Vulnerable and insecure, she’d allowed it for far too long, losing herself until she no longer had an identity of her own. She’d finally found the courage to break away, but things turned as nasty as she’d expected.
Telling Charles she was divorcing him had been her most difficult task yet. Worse, because he’d fought her at every turn, assuming as an attorney he’d hold the upper hand and emerge the victor. Lucky for her, Claire had found her a shark who could draw blood.
“Once more, Julia, you have made an irresponsible decision.” Charles’s words interrupted her thoughts now, tiny pin pricks bringing her back to the present. “I don’t know why you have to go away during this particular week. You know my parents have very definite ideas about Thanksgiving dinner.”
Yes, she certainly did. More than she wanted to. She should have just told him they could have it at their house but it was one more argument she hadn’t wanted at the time.
“Charles, I’ll be back Wednesday afternoon.” She forced herself to bite back her automatic retort. “Miranda is doing the grocery shopping, she’ll have the table set by Wednesday night and everything ready for me to finish cooking Thursday morning. I’m only doing this for the children anyway, so don’t push me or there won’t be any dinner at all.”
“May I remind you of the generous monthly stipend your attorney screwed me out of? There are certain conditions for you to continue receiving it.”
“As if I could stop you,” she snapped.
“My parents like to eat Thanksgiving dinner at three,” he reminded her. “It’s a tradition. Nothing should disrupt that.”
“God forbid we should ever break with tradition,” Julia muttered under her breath.
“What did you say?” Charles cast a sideways glance at her.
“I said don’t worry, I’d never break with tradition. Dinner will be on the table exactly at three.”
Charles made no comment, his attention at the moment riveted on steering through the traffic with precise moves. “I don’t know why Claire couldn’t have gone instead.” A note of petulance tinged his words.
“Claire is doing the Thanksgiving Festival starting Friday, as you well know.” Julia was irritated. This wasn’t the first argument they’d had about this. “They have no children. This way I can spend the long weekend with the twins.”
“I’d rather you didn’t work at all and stayed home where you belong.”
“I will not have this discussion with you again at this particular moment.” She fisted her hands to hold her temper in check. “Your choices are no longer a factor in my life. I’m sick of the whole thing.”
“No more than I am. Julia, I’m tired of waiting for you to come to your senses and call off this ridiculous divorce activity.”
Slap, slap, slap. The windshield wipers were a metronome keeping time to the throbbing in her head.
“It’s not ridiculous, and it’s almost final.”
“Almost being the key word.”
“Charles…” Oh, God, why wouldn’t he shut up?
“Never mind.” Charles’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “You were right. This is neither the time nor place to discuss this. But trust me, we will be talking about this when you get back.”
“I can hardly wait,” she muttered and moved as close to the door as her seat belt would allow.
They sat in silence the rest of the way to the airport. Charles let her out at the Departures entrance, and confirmed her return time and flight with her.
“I’ll pick you up.” It was as much an order as an announcement. Would she never have space to breathe with this man?
“Why do you do this?” she asked. “It’s over, Charles. Over. I don’t want you hovering and caging me in. I’ll take the airport limo home. Or arrange for the car service.”
A muscle jumped wildly in his cheek. “Any moment now you will come to your senses and stop this ridiculous charade. I may not be able to sleep in my own bed for the moment, but it is my responsibility to make sure you arrive home safely. We have dinner planned for Thursday.”
Ah, yes. The dinner again. It would be a damned shame if she killed herself before the obligatory holiday meal.
Tired of the argument, she simply nodded and slammed the door.
Charles pulled quickly away from the curb, water spraying out in a rooster tail from beneath the wheels. The only thing more drenched than the pavement was her heart.
Chapter 2
The snow was thick when they landed, and the trip to the hotel in the little town outside the city was long and nerve-wracking. Julia skipped dinner for hot tea, a hot bath, aspirin, and bed.
By morning, she’d recharged her batteries, forcibly pushing thoughts of Charles from her mind. Again she took extra pains with her makeup, smoothing on a bright red lipstick to match her red power suit. She pulled her hair into a heavy gold clip in what she called her professional look, and took her usual final look at herself. Check. Fortified by breakfast and four cups of tea, she was riding an adrenaline rush when her cab pulled up to the hotel entrance.
The corporate headquarters for Hot Ticket Sportswear was a small two-story building with lots of brick and glass. Julia caught a vague impression of landscaping designed to add a luxurious feel to the grounds in summer. Then she
