Pat slowly drifted out of sleep. He tossed and turned, struggling to wake up. When he finally found the strength to open his eyes, he found that everything was in order. The attic above the dance studio was calm and peaceful, the sun was gently peaking through the blinds, and Pat could hear birds gently chirping outside, signaling the beginning of what promised to be reviving spring.
Beside him, Tiffany was still asleep. Pat watched her in a loving awe for a few seconds before being startled by what had woken him up in the first place; a pounding at the front door.
"Fuck," Pat muttered to himself as her scrambled to find his boxers and wife beater, which seemed to be hopelessly lost in the sheets after the previous night. Just as he found his boxers, the pounding on the door intensified, and he decided to forgo the tank top. Pat threw on his underwear and rushed down the stairs.
"Be right there," he called out as he stumbled down the last few stairs. He paused for a moment to catch his breath. This was an effort wasted because what he found when he opened the door was enough to shock the breath out of him.
"Pat, thank God. I was hoping you would answer."
"Nikki?" He asked, clearly startled by her presence. But sure enough, his estranged wife was standing at the door.
"Can I come in for a second?" she asked.
"I uh, I really don't think that's a good idea. I'm not looking for any trouble," Pat stuttered, crossing his arms in front of his bare chest.
"If you're talking about the restraining order, I went to the courthouse and had it dropped last week. I don't want any trouble either."
Pat smiled, still not moving from the doorway to let his estranged wife into the house, Tiffany's house. "Good. That's good, I'm really happy to hear that, Nikki. Now once you sign the divorce papers we can finally move on, huh?"
Nikki's face turned solemn. "That's actually what I came here to talk to you about."
"Was there a problem? Did you not get them? I knew I should've paid the extra money to have the lawyer deliver them himself…" Pat began to panic.
"No, no. They're here, I have them right here in my purse," Nikki reassured him.
"You have them? Good! That's good! Did you sign them? You know I need you to sign them, Nikki."
"That's the thing, Pat. I think maybe we should talk about it, reconsider."
"Reconsider? Nikki, what the fuck is there to reconsider?" Pat exclaimed.
"Look Pat, I think maybe we rushed this whole divorce. I mean, we haven't really seen each other in almost a year. We've both changed, I mean look at you. You look amazing, and Ronnie and Veronica say you've really got your life together. I think we should give this a second chance before we just throw out years of marriage," Nikki pleaded with him.
Pat smiled again. "You're right, Nikki, I have changed. I'm the best version of myself that I can be. And you know who I owe that to? I owe that to Tiffany. What you did, with that Culpepper? That was really fucked up, Nikki. Really fucked up."
"Look, Pat," Nikki begged him. "I made a mistake, but I've changed too."
"Good, Nikki, I'm glad you've changed, I'm happy for you. And I want to thank you, because what you did was the best thing that's ever happened to me. Well, not the cheating, that was probably the worst, but because you did what you did I found the best thing that's ever happened to me. I found a silver lining. Aren't you happy for me, Nikki? I found one, after everything."
"Tiffany?" Nikki asked softly.
Pat nodded. "I love her, Nikki. Probably more than I've ever loved anyone."
(Nikki's face fell drastically upon hearing this, but Pat was to preoccupied to notice)
"She understands me, Nikki. She actually understands me, craziness and all, and I understand her. She makes me want to be a better person," Pat continued. "I need her, and I think she needs me."
Nikki looked down. "You've really thought about this, huh? She's who you want?"
"She's who I need. I need Tiffany. Let's be honest, Nikki, there's nothing between us anymore, and there hasn't been in God knows how long, even when we were still together. Why keep lying to ourselves? Don't you want to be happy, Nikki? I'm happy with Tiffany, you deserve to find happiness with someone too. Why keep lying to yourself?" Pat reasoned.
Nikki sighed "You know, you really have changed, Pat. And you know what? I truly am happy for you, and for Tiffany. You're the best you you can be and you deserve to share that with someone who can give you what I obviously never could. Here, take these." She reaches into her purse and hands him a manila envelope.
"Everything you need to go through with the divorce is in this envelope, signed," Nikki told him, lacking any emotion in her voice.
"Nikki! Thank you so much, Nikki!" And before Pat could help himself, he reached through the doorway and hugged her. Not a romantic or loving hug that would be shared by two people that had deep feelings for each other, but a friendly hug, shared by two people who were no longer anything more than old friends.
Once again, Nikki sighed, fighting back tears as she hugged him back. "You're a great guy, Pat," she whispered. "Tiffany should know how lucky she is."
The two broke apart.
"I guess I should be going," Nikki said.
"Yeah," Pat nodded. "That would probably be best."
And with that, Pat's soon-to-be ex-wife turned around and began to walk down the driveway.
"Hey, Nikki?" Pat called to her "Stay positive. You'll find your silver lining, too."
Nikki turned around and gave Pat a sheepish smile, then continued to walk down the driveway.
Pat closed the door, holding the envelope to his chest. He smiled down at it, then placed it in between the rungs on the stairwell. He would deal with the divorce later, all he wanted at the moment was to hold Tiffany. As he headed for the stairs, he heard a quick fumbling noise, and when he looked up the stairs he caught a split-second glimpse of Tiffany's back as she hurriedly disappeared into the bedroom.
Pat grinned to himself, as he ascended the stairs. When he made his way to the bedroom, he found Tiffany had already wrapped up in the comforter, facing away from him, pretending to be asleep. Pat climbed into the bed beside her. He kissed her cheek, and she tried to fight back a smile, but failed.
"You can stop acting now," Pat whispered in her ear. "I know you were eavesdropping the entire time."
Tiffany turned around to face him, preparing to go on the defensive, but when she looked at Pat, he had a goofy smile on his face.
"But I'm glad you got to hear all of that," he continued. "Sorry if it got a little mushy, but I meant everything I said."
"Well then," she smirked, gracefully climbing on top of him. "You should know that I need you too."
Pat slightly opened his mouth to respond to her, but Tiffany pressed her lips on to his before he could speak. So instead he passionately kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her, holding her close. This was what he wanted, what he needed. Pat finally had his life together, he finally found his silver lining, and he never planned on letting go.