title: why everything fell apart
author: ivory muse
rating: heavy t. there's pretty blunt discussions of sex.
characters: beverly, mr. no-first-name hofstadter, leonard
genres: drama/angst
summary: thirty-seven years, nothing left to salvage.
a/n: i always did want to witness the dissolution of mr. and mrs. hofstadter's marriage. so i wrote it.
"I want a divorce."
To Beverly's credit, she does not so much as blink. In all the time he's known her, he has never seen her cry or laugh or lose her composure. "What a surprise," she says, taking a long, bitter draught from her coffee cup.
He's made empty threats before, during arguments when his temper got the best of him, but he is not angry now. "I don't love you," he wearily elaborates. "We haven't had sex since Michael was conceived. The only reason you agreed to kiss me at our wedding was because the priest kept clearing his throat. Why are we still living like this?"
"Of course, it comes down to you and your penis," she dismisses. They are only separated by the narrow swathe of wood that composes the breakfast table, yet it feels impenetrable. "I should have realized."
"No, it doesn't," he protests. "It's not about that at all! I just… you raised our children to be scientific experiments, for God's sake! When was the last time you paid Leonard a compliment?"
"Considering the fact that he was supposed to demonstrate what lack of maternal affection does to the development of a neurotypical boy, that would utterly defeat the purpose of my research. Needy Baby, Greedy Baby's afterword would have to be written over again."
She doesn't understand. He can throw thirty-seven years of damning evidence into her face, and she will no more understand than if he recited it in Klingon. Beverly is a creature of pure science; there is no room for messy, colorful things like emotions in the pristine world she's forged for herself. Thirty-seven years and there's nothing left to salvage.
"Leonard built a hugging machine when he was ten. I used to borrow it."
"I suppose he became the sole user after you found that busty waitress in the university cafeteria." Fury, ever so briefly, crosses her eyes. Whether it is from genuine betrayal or mere possessiveness, he cannot tell.
"How did you….?"
"The lipstick marks on your collar were my first clue. It went downhill from there."
Jessica had been all warm lips and perky breasts and throaty chuckles- he regretted little and thought of nothing while thrusting between her legs. It was just so hard, coming home to a woman with cold stares and cold half-smiles and cold queries as to how his day was….
He sounds like a petulant kid, lashing out in spite because he isn't allowed a forbidden cookie. His weakness can't be pinned on Beverly, whatever her faults. "I'm sorry." The words sound mechanical and hollow, even to his own ears.
"You're lying through your teeth." Beverly sighs, toys with her graying hair. The tic shocks him- she's always had such perfect control over her body. "I think," she says, quietly, "that you should leave. It's clear to me that the paradigm of our relationship has shifted. I can hire a lawyer to review the prenuptial."
"That would be for the best." He rises from the table, ready to gather his belongings. He can stay at a hotel for a few days to clear his head.
"I'll tell Leonard when I visit him next month," she calls. "This isn't the sort of thing he'll be able to handle over the phone. He's always been prone to irrational emotional responses."
Perhaps this is the first time in her life when she's considered another's feelings, and he does not point that out.