"Son-of-a-bitch!"

I am unpleasantly surprised to see a Newitt Energy truck in front of the house when I pull up after work. I cut the engine and check my cell. Of course there are no messages from Shaun indicating he would be here when I arrived home tonight. I brace myself to face him for the first time since he had his buddy John drop off divorce papers. We haven't even spoken since before he left for Alaska. He sent me a text the last time he was at the house packing and I avoided coming home until I was sure he would be gone. I can't really leave now without him noticing. I take a deep breath and head inside.

"Shaun?"

"Up here."

Great, the bedroom. That's the last place I'd like to be with Shaun right now. I take off my duty jacket and steadily make my way up the stairs. I hear him rummaging around in far corner of the closet.

"Shaun, what are you doing here?"

He pokes his head out into the room

"What? It's my house too, Vic, remember? At least it is until the divorce is final. Besides, I have a few more things to get that I missed when I was here the other day."

"Oh...Like what."

"My college yearbooks for one thing. I think they're in those few boxes we never unpacked after we moved from Philly. My being here isn't a problem, is it?"

"No, it's not a problem. Just unexpected. You could have called, sent me a text at least to let me know you'd be here when I got home."

He's gone back into the closet and appears to be shifting some books haphazardly from one cardboard box into another.

"Didn't think about it."

"Okay, well, I'll just get out your hair. I can go down to the Red Pony and get something to eat."

He looks out again, "You don't have to do that. There's beer in the fridge and I ordered a pizza. There'll be plenty for both of us. Besides, I'm going to be here until tomorrow, so even if you leave I'll still be here when you get back."

"You're staying here?"

He's back in the closet again, "Where else would I stay?"

"Where did you stay last time?"

"Last time, I pulled an all-nighter at the office cleaning out my desk and wrapping up all the loose ends I had before the transfer is finalized. Then I had to go to the Cheyenne office to take care of some things there. I just got back to Durant about an hour ago. Listen Vic, if you want me to get a motel room, I will. I just didn't think it was necessary."

Of course you didn't. Maybe that's an example of why we're getting a divorce, because you don't think, "No, you can stay. I'll sleep on the couch downstairs" That's where I've been spending most of my nights since he left anyway. Once I'm able to purchase a new bed I'll start sleeping back upstairs.

"Suit yourself."

Suit myself? What the hell does he mean by that? Before I have a chance to flesh out the implications of this statement the doorbell rings.

"That's probably the pizza. I left a twenty on the kitchen counter. You can use that to pay the delivery guy."

Shaun cannot be serious. He's acting like everything is normal. I shake my head and go down the stairs to grab the twenty and get the door. That's where I encounter my second unpleasant surprise of the evening.

"Victoria, so good to see you!"

"Mom. What...how..." I'm having trouble completing my sentences.

"I know, I know, it's a big surprise. Why don't you invite me in and I'll tell you all about it."

She breezes through the door and sets an overnight sized bag on the table in the hallway.

"I was afraid if I called ahead of time you would tell me not to come, but if I showed up you certainly couldn't send me away. So, I booked a flight to Billings, rented a car and here I am. I stopped by the station when I got into town, I knew it was on the square so it was easy to find. Deputy Ferguson was kind enough to give me directions to your house from there."

"Mother, what are you doing here?"

"Tell me, why did I have to hear about the demise of your marriage from Charlotte? That is not the kind of news that you want to be surprised by when you run into your son-in-law's mother at the grocery store."

"I should have called and told you, I just, uh, haven't had the chance."

"So it's true?"

I sigh, "Yes, Mother, it's true. Do you want to start the lecture now? You could go ahead and get it over with. Or, do you want to wait until you've had a good night's rest and let me have it tomorrow morning? Shaun's upstairs. I could call him down and you can have a go at both of us at the same time."

"Shaun's here? I thought he was in Alaska."

"He was. He's just back until tomorrow."

"Well that's lovely, isn't it. I'll have a chance to see him then."

Maybe I should be the one to get a motel room and let Mom and Shaun have the house for the night. Better yet, I could stay over at Walt's. Actually, I'm pretty sure shacking up overnight before my divorce is finalized is probably not on the list of Walt-approved activities, even if things never move past a G rating.

"And Vic, I'm not here to lecture you. I came to offer my support and guidance, see if you need help sorting things out."

"Uh huh...Mother, what exactly did Charlotte tell you? It was more than the fact that Shaun and I are splitting up, wasn't it?""

"I'm quite sure I don't know what you're talking about, Victoria?"

I cross my arms. I know my mother better than that.

"Well, it was embarrassing to be honest. She said that Shaun told her you were involved with your boss. I assured her he must be mistaken. I raised my daughter better than that."

I cannot keep yet another sigh from escaping, "Mother, we are not divorcing over my boss. While there are a lot of issues in our marriage, being with other people is not one of them. Unless of course there's someone on Shaun's end that he's not telling me about."

"Don't worry, Vic, there's not anyone else." Shaun has come downstairs and is standing at the end of the hallway. He shifts his attention to our visitor, "Lena. It's nice to see you. Vic didn't tell me you were coming."

"She didn't know dear."

"I see."

He walks over to my mother and gives her a hug. I can't help but roll my eyes. Luckily my mother is facing away and doesn't see me. I can tell by the look on Shaun's face, however, that he saw my reaction and is far more amused by it than I'd like. They release their embrace and my mother starts to walk into the family room.

"Now, you two come in here with me. We'll cozy up near the fire and you can tell me what happened. I want to know all about it."