Charmed: Let Gorgons Be Gorgons by Paul Ruditis Read Free Book Online Page A

asked with hope, echoing Coop’s earlier question. A long, natural build up to this divorce would be a welcome response.
    Bri shook her head. “That’s the crazy thing. I just woke up one morning and it was like… everything he’d ever done that bothered me suddenly intensified by a million. I couldn’t take it anymore. I mean… I threw a tube of toothpaste at his head because he forgot to put the cap back on. Again.”
    “I’m guessing this caught your husband off guard?” Coop asked.
    “The toothpaste did,” Bri said with a slight smile. “But he felt it too. It was like after all this time together something just clicked. It happened fast. We went to Vegas last month and had a great time. Even thought about renewing our vows at one of those cheesy Elvis wedding chapels. The photos alone would have been worth it. His mother would have been horrified. Even more scandalized than she was when we told her we’d gotten married by an advice columnist. No offense.”
    Phoebe smiled. She liked this woman. “None taken.”
    Bri moved over to the mantle. A picture of the couple sat next to an empty spot where those missing candlesticks probably used to be. “I’m glad that we have the memories from that trip to go out on, because the day-to-day stuff just got overwhelming.”
    The movers came through the living room with a china cabinet. It provided silent commentary on the conversation as all three heads turned to watch their progress as the men carefully tilted it through the doorway.
    “When did it happen?” Phoebe asked once they were gone. “The thing with the toothpaste?”
    “Over the weekend,” Bri replied, catching the glance that Phoebe and Coop shared. “You’re wondering about the move?”
    “It is kind of fast,” Phoebe said.
    “I manage some properties around the city,” Bri explained. “I already had a condo available that I always wanted for myself. Great view of the bay. Close to friends. Not on top of one of the biggest damn hills in the city. He gets the house and I take everything else. We worked that out before we even filed the paperwork. Except the candlesticks. Those seem to still be under negotiation.”
    “That’s not what I meant,” Phoebe said. “What if this is just a phase? Don’t you even want to try working it out? I mean, if the separation is already so amicable—”
    “Amicable?” Bri said. “You heard us on the phone when you came in, didn’t you?”
    “I say things in the heat of emotion sometimes,” Phoebe replied. “I don’t always mean them.”
    “If you can agree on something as sentimental as your personal belongings, who knows what else you could accept if you talked it out more,” Coop added.
    Bri placed the picture face-down on the mantle, as if looking at the memory of happier times was causing her pain. And yet, Phoebe didn’t feel anything from her. No emotions at all. Bri just faded into the woodwork. “Keon and I are both pretty set in our ways. We know what we want and we make it happen. Neither of us wastes time dithering over decisions. It’s what attracted us to one another in the first place. That’s why your advice was so valuable.”
    Phoebe searched her memory, but she had no clue what that advice had been. She must have responded to hundreds readers since Bri had written her letter. She squeezed Coop’s hand and flashed him a smile, hoping that he would continue her line of thought.
    “What was it Phoebe said that helped you two?” he asked, picking up on his wife’s signals.
    Bri smiled wistfully as she sat in a metal folding chair across from the couch. “It’s funny, actually. It’s kind of the reverse of what we’re going through now. Keon and I met and fell in love so quickly. He proposed after the third date. I accepted before he even got the question out.” She held up a hand before they could say anything. “Crazy, I know, but like I said, we’re decisive people. We knew what we wanted and didn’t want to