Michelle decided to take a week of vacation time to get her house in order and to visit with Jack. Over the next couple of days, the piles of boxes slowly disappeared, until only the packet of papers by the door remained out of place. Neither of them would touch it, though both knew what it was. Finally Jack saw that there was nothing else besides those papers to be put away, so he brought the packet in to Michelle, who was sitting at the kitchen counter with a glass of water. He laid it on the table in front of her then sat down as well.
"Tony sent you," Michelle said, looking up at him, "didn't he?"
"Michelle…."
"It's okay, Jack. I'm glad he's still talking to someone. How is he?"
Jack sighed and ran his hands over his face, leaving one against his chin. He looked at her for a few seconds before answering. "I'm supposed to tell you that I haven't seen him," he started, "I'm supposed to tell you that he's better off this way. That you're better off this way. I'm supposed to convince you…" Jack's voice trailed off, and he looked unintentionally at the papers on the table between them.
"To sign?" Michelle finished for him, "he sent you to do his dirty work, then? To convince me to run from the man I love? To run from what my own selfishness has brought about?"
"What are you talking about, Michelle? You did your job. Nothing that happened that day was your fault. We can't save everyone, Michelle, no matter how hard we try. If you let it eat at you like that, you're only going to hurt yourself more. Believe me."
"Then what would you do, Jack?" Michelle found herself getting angry, and Jack happened to be the closest target. "If Teri was in prison, instead? Because of her love for you? Would you walk away, Jack? I know you can be cold, but I don't know if I'd give you that much credit!" She could see that she had hurt Jack, and something inside of her took joy in that.
"What would you want him to do, Michelle," Jack asked gently, "if things were reversed?" Michelle stared him down. "At least consider signing. I think that Tony would be happy for you. It would be a weight off his shoulders to know you had moved on."
Michelle stood up, fire in her eyes. "Am I a weight on his shoulders, then, Jack?" she screamed, "After all I've already taken from him, I'm still a burden?" She threw her glass of water across the room, missing Jack by a few feet but not sparing the lamp, which fell to the ground with a crash. Michelle bit her lower lip and looked to see what she had done. The anger she had felt flowed out of her, along with her strength. She sank back down into her chair.
Without a word, Jack came around the table and hugged her as he would a small child. He could feel her shaking as she sobbed quietly, her legs pulled up against her chest. After a while, Michelle was able to stop crying, and Jack helped her up the stairs to her room.
When he came back down a few minutes later, Jack picked up the divorce papers from the counter and flipped through them. Tony had signed in all of the necessary places, and seen to it that flags had been added in all the places for Michelle to sign. He closed the packet and put it in the bottom drawer of Michelle's desk, hoping that some day she would have the courage to sign it.
