September 2000
Will sat at his desk in Karen's beach house, sweating and looking over some paperwork he just got over the fax. The idea of being in the Caribbean for a few months sounded like a good way to clear his head and work on himself, but instead of listening to waves and working on his novel, he was listening to Stan and Karen argue while sifting through legal paperwork. He ran his hands over his face, frustrated, before resting his head against the desk for a moment.
He wasn't sure what exactly they were arguing about; it was always something with them, but they had been yelling at one another for at least thirty minutes. He stood from the desk, finally unable to take any more, and walked out onto the deck. It was hot, but the breeze was picking up as the sun began to set in the distance, and he could tell that a storm would arrive overnight. He continued to walk from the deck onto the beach, effectively unable to hear the arguing from the house, and he sat upon the sand, watching the ocean for a moment.
It was about ten minutes later that he heard the door to the deck slam behind him, but he didn't move to see who it was. It was undoubtedly Karen, running away from whatever problem she was having with her husband. He had learned a lot about her being at the beach house. Her mannerisms were getting easier to pick up on, and he had already witnessed enough arguments between her and Stan that he knew how they both reacted afterward.
"Karen." He called for her whenever she stepped onto the beach and began to walk the opposite direction that he was sitting. He assumed she couldn't see him, as he was a bit hidden from her view, and called her over in case she needed to talk. She turned to face him, the breeze blowing her hair out of her face like a scene from a movie. He was taken aback.
"What are you doing out here?" She composed herself, and he thought for a moment that she was likely coming to the beach to express whatever emotion she was feeling. She didn't step closer, and he could see her building her wall right in front of him.
"It was getting pretty heated in the house. I didn't like hearing you two argue." She looked to the ground at his words, feeling slightly embarrassed, even though she would never admit such a thing. She didn't realize how loud they had gotten in the heat of their words.
"He's just…infuriating sometimes." She walked closer to him and took a seat next to him in the sand. "Obviously, we're still having some issues."
"Have you thought about counseling?" She laughed, a laugh that sounded so empty to her own ears, before turning to face him fully.
"I'm sure you'll be surprised that therapy isn't really our thing." He smiled, knowing that was true before he had even asked the question. He looked up into her eyes, frowning immediately at the sight of her face. "What, honey?"
"Your lip is bleeding." She immediately reached her hand to her face and wiped away some blood, looking at her fingers as she pulled away. She turned away from him, looking over the water and effectively hiding the bruised side of her face from his view.
"It's nothing."
"Karen…"
"Please don't." Her voice was softer than he had ever heard, and he knew she didn't want to discuss it further, but he was feeling a sense of outrage. His first reaction was to go back into the house and take matters into his own hands.
"Does he do that a lot?" She was silent for a moment, uncomfortable at the idea of sharing anything personal with him. She had tried to put a lot of distance between them lately, as she felt they were getting much too close. It had been nearly a year since he kissed her, and they hadn't addressed it once, nor had anything else happened between them, and she desperately wanted to keep it that way. It was becoming increasingly difficult to do whenever he could be so caring and kind to her at times. She finally sighed, giving in to the moment. She trusted that her words would stay with him.
"No, he doesn't. Actually, it hasn't happened in a really long time."
"Why tonight?"
"Well…I told him I want a divorce." She shrugged, wishing she could just be back home in the comfort of her own bed to work through her emotions alone. "Apparently, he does not."
"I didn't know things were that bad."
"I'm just so tired of pretending, honey." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, causing her to flinch at the unexpected contact.
"You never have to pretend with me if you don't want to." She hung her head and tears flowed from her eyes, silently, as she was holding back the best she could. She knew that if she let her tears fall freely, she would never stop. He pulled her close to him, allowing her to rest her face against his shoulder and wrap her arms around him for support. He felt so warm and safe to her, the complete opposite of the cold and sometimes harsh man she married. She wasn't used to being held so gently.
"Please don't say anything to anyone about this."
"You know I won't."
