She told herself she just wanted to see if Austin was actually living there or if that was another lie. But really, she thought she was torturing herself. She wanted to see his new perfect life so she could feel properly sorry for herself. She parked across the street around dinnertime, watching through the windows as Austin played with his nephews while Cynthia cooked.
It looked like a commercial for domestic happiness, and she felt that familiar stab of inadequacy watching him interact with family so easily. She was about to leave when she heard voices coming from the front of the house. Austin and Cynthia had stepped out onto the verander which overlooked the street. They stood near the railing, their voices carrying clearly in the quiet evening air, completely unaware they could be overheard.
“I still can’t believe you actually invited her,” Cynthia was saying, and she could hear the amusement in her voice. “I told you it was a stroke of genius,” Austin replied. “My mom’s been asking too many questions about why the marriage really ended. Having Amanda show up looking pathetic will answer all those questions without me having to say a word.
She froze in her car, her hand on the keys. But what if she doesn’t come? Cynthia asked. Oh, she’ll come. Amanda’s too pathetic not to come. She’s probably been sitting in that empty house for weeks, desperate for any excuse to be around me again. Cynthia laughed. You’re terrible. The poor woman. Poor woman. Cynthia, obsession with getting pregnant, who couldn’t accept that some people just aren’t meant to have children.
Still, inviting your ex-wife to your baby shower is pretty cold, even for you. It’s perfect, Austin said. And she could hear the satisfaction in his voice. Everyone will see exactly what I had to deal with. My mom, my family, all our old friends. They’ll see this bitter, childless woman who couldn’t handle that I moved on and found happiness.
What if she causes a scene? Even better, let her have a breakdown at our baby shower. Let everyone see how unstable she really is. It’ll justify everything I’ve told them about why our marriage failed. She sat in her car, feeling like the ground was disappearing beneath her. Austin hadn’t invited her to show there were no hard feelings.
He’d invited her to humiliate her publicly, to use her pain as entertainment for his friends and family. The timing is perfect, too, Austin continued. She’ll be getting the final divorce papers any day now, so she’ll be at her lowest point. She’ll probably show up in some tragic outfit looking desperate and pathetic, and everyone will understand exactly why I had to leave her.
