Chapter 2

Tim was served divorce papers the next day citing irreconcilable differences. He counter-sued, claiming infidelity. Both agreed through their lawyers to sell all of their mutual assets and split the proceeds, keeping their businesses separate. When he saw her in court, she refused to look at him. The proceedings were a whirl for him, ending before he could think rationally or apologize in person. When the hearing was finished, she ran out of the room as if she couldn't get away fast enough.

Tim moved to a little beach front house and Kate relocated to a loft. Over the next year they had no contact, except for seeing each other in the business and entertainment sections of the newspaper. As the year following their divorce dragged on, they began to miss one another and regret the things they had said.

For Tim, work had lost the excitement he had felt for it. He was still great at coming up with amazing building ideas and they were still talked about, but his heart wasn't in it anymore. The passion that had driven him in the beginning was gone, and work became something to fill his waking hours.

Kate still went out and had fun, but she felt disoriented in her own life, her smiles became more forced and it became harder to have a good time. Soon partying became a thing of the past and she stayed home most nights with her couch and a carton of ice cream for company. She was still a noted designer and was still very much in demand with her elite client?, but she wasn't having as much fun doing the work as she used to.

Finally, the months of loneliness got to her and one night, she picked up the phone and called Tim. She had no idea what she was going to say and when he picked up after two rings, she lost her nerve and hung up.

Tim stared at the phone in his hand as if it were a snake. He didn't know how to explain it, but he knew Kate had just been on the other line. He wondered if she had hung up or if she had been cut off. Before he could talk himself out of it, he hit the caller ID button and called her back.

Kate stood in her kitchen, phone still in hand, asking herself how she could have been so stupid. The ring of the phone shattered the silence in the kitchen, sending a jolt through her and causing her to drop it. As it fell to the floor, a large piece broke off. She hurriedly picked it up and tried to answer, but to no avail. She threw the phone towards the trash can and made a mad dash to her bedroom to get to another phone.

Tim sat, listening to the steady thrum of the ring, almost ready to hang up. He decided he would give it four rings, and then hang up if she didn't answer.

Kate launched herself across the bed to grab the phone on her bedside table. In her hurry, she put too much energy into her move and slid off the opposite side of the bed, hitting the floor, along with the talk button. Tim heard the connection and her rapid breathing in the background. As she breathlessly spoke his name on the other end, the sad weight he had carried with him for years left his chest, making him feel oddly buoyant. He whispered her name, half-exclamation and half-prayer.

She closed her eyes against the warmth of the tears dampening her lashes. Hearing him say her name with so much hope took her back to their wedding day, when they were both young and invincible with love. They were both silent for a moment, reeling with the bittersweet flood of memories from the day they had met and all that had happened since.

When they had recovered enough to speak, they blurted out apologies at the same time, and then started to laugh, effectively disintegrating any leftover tensions. For the rest of the night, they talked on the phone, finally getting past all the jealousies and neuroses enough to set things right.

Kate had been seeing a therapist since the day she had moved out. She had talked for weeks about what had gone wrong, her feelings and her own stubborn actions and the guilt she had carried with her. But now she knew that all the therapy she'd had was nothing compared to how it felt to talk to Tim and hear his reaction to her words.

For Tim, it was a relief to be able to explain his side of the weeks leading up to their final fight and finally being able to take back the hurtful things he had said to her. They agreed that they had been hasty and stubborn and that they really should have been able to communicate instead of lashing out and being defensive.

When the sky was starting to lighten, Tim drifted off to sleep. Kate smiled hearing his deep, even breathing, and turning on the phone's speaker, she laid it gently on the pillow where he would have been. Listening to him breathe, Kate closed her eyes and had the best sleep she'd had in a long time.