Chapter 7 : Divorce
Next morning Julia woke up late. Stepping into her apartment, she watched a few romantic comedies online to avoid the void in her heart, to avoid thinking about the cruel mockery of life that she had been enduring for the past few days. She was upset, “Whenever I thought that I am about to take a giant leap forward in my life, I had always been tethered by my parents’ decisions.”
Her phone buzzed. A message from Roman, “Already at work?”
Julia chose not to reply. She grumbled, “Moron. Either you’re leaving me to hang dry as before, or, you have overcome the past and starting afresh, or you’re starting afresh without a hint of the past - because that past was not our doing, it belongs to our parents.”
Roman waited for five more minutes then he called, Julia did not pick up. Roman decided to let Julia cool down for some time.
Next evening he walked to BizTalk cafe, chose to sit on a table from where he got a clear view of all the people entering and exiting the cafe. He sat there till the cafe was closed at nine in the night. He wondered, “How long will this headstrong woman take to calm down?”
Julia was not as busy as any other weekday. Until January third in the new year, she had no meeting. She was doing all the developmental and support work. She was revising her business plans. She was arranging her schedule to set meetings with the investors as soon as the holiday season would pass. She was freeing her schedule for the first Tuesday after New Year’s Day to get a divorce.
Yet there were empty hours when she was not able to enjoy all those romantic comedies where logic was holidaying without telling any supernatural or fantasy story. She started looking for puzzles online and started sending messages to her online puzzle partner of several years. She wondered, “If I could have known whether this id belongs to a human …”
She missed hanging out with Roman after work on weekdays and on weekends. She counseled herself, “I’ve swallowed too many bitter pills. I can swallow this one, too. Since he does not want to be with me any more, let it be.”
She was upset because Roman did neither send her any text message nor he called again. She was upset because her online puzzle partner did not respond to her for two days. She knew that their rendezvous was not as frequent as it used to be in her college days and their interactions became less and less frequent after she started working. But she thought that she could reinvigorate those sessions after they communicated over the previous Thanksgiving weekend.
Julia felt that she might have overestimated those communications. She grumbled, “Humans are so unreliable! How could the machines made by humans be reliable!”
On New Year's Eve Roman called again. Julia chose not to pick up. Roman kept calling. He texted, “It’s impossible that you’ve not heard any of the rings or did not see my messages. I’m not kidding. I’ve something important to tell you … about business … it’s not personal.”
Julia was curious what business was up on New Year’s Eve, “Yes. Tell me.”
Roman was quite serious, “For the past two quarters, you have gathered more business than you got for the entire year before. Your investment potential has been hiked by two whole percentage points in FinanceAI evaluation. Do you have any plans to expand? Have you thought of any new product or service? This’ the time …”
Julia said, “I use FinanceAI’s Business Rank Generator app. I know the evaluations. I have made a few business plans. Starting next week, I’ll try getting some appointments with the investors over the coming weeks so that I can secure some investments before the closing of the first quarter of the new year.”
Roman wasted no time, “Do you have plans this evening? We can review your business plans -”
Julia uttered under her breath, “Jerk! You got me.”
What Roman heard was, “The cafe - BizTalk and the one in my neighborhood - both are closed tonight.”
Roman volunteered, “I can come over. I’ve a car. I brought it to my place last night, when I returned from work.”
Julia looked around the mess that her upset soul created for the past two days. She sighed and protested, “My business plans have some of my trade secrets … I’m not comfortable sharing them with you …”
Roman reasoned with, “We’re not competitors. We’re not in the same trade.”
Julia put forward her argument, “You deal with my competitors, too.”
Roman nailed the debate, “Anyway, I have access to all data of your business on FinanceAI cloud as the company CEO. If I would like to sell your business secrets, I could have done that a long time ago. Besides, if I do that you could have sued me. If I do that with your current business plans -”
Julia sighed, “I can sue you then.”
She asked, “Should I put a camera on a tripod and record our session of reviewing my business plans?”
Roman’s voice glimmered in happiness, “That’s upto you. Please open the door of the apartment.”
Julia scoffed, “What? You’re standing at my door?”
But Roman had already hung up. Julia knew that Roman had seen her keying on the lock at the community entrance. He sent a few books before through couriers. He knew Julia’s apartment number.
Once more, Julia looked around the mess in the hall. She forgot about her hot pants and tank top and unkempt waist long hairs. Her heart was thumping out of control. She opened the door.
Roman was standing there in jeans and a long coat. He held a bouquet of vanda and a box of chocolate and he wore a smile that melted Julia’s heart.
He handed over the gifts to Julia. Julia could not speak in joy and also in embarrassment. Roman looked into the hall and suggested, “I’m a little hungry. Let me cook some food. You can use the time to tidy up. Is that okay?”
Julia nodded in agreement. She freed her hands of the gifts by putting both the bouquet and the chocolate on the kitchen counter. She rushed to the broom closet and brought out the trash bags and vacuum cleaner. She picked up all the empty packs of snacks from the floor and filled the trash bag with them. Then she powered up the vacuum cleaner and kept dusting.
From the corners of her eyes, she noticed Roman put the flowers on a vase and watered them. He put the box of chocolate in the refrigerator. He took out leeks, bell peppers, broccolis and chicken from the vegetable basket. He turned on the oven to warm up to a temperature that he needed to cook. He marinated the chicken, prepared a dough with flour and cut the vegetable. Then he filled up small dollops of the dough with vegetables and chicken. He put those dollops of dough with fillings spread on a baking tray in the oven.
Julia did not watch all of Roman’s kitchen work from the hall. She left him when he was cutting the vegetables and she started cleaning and tidying up the bedroom. She whispered to herself, “Don’t expect too much. We’ve spent nights in the same bedrooms before. Nothing happened then. Nothing would happen tonight. He hates you. He’s here for business.”
In a deeper current of thoughts was flowing a hope, “Will he take a step to bring in intimacy in our relationship?”
She ended up brushing her teeth and combing her hair. She put on a decent floral print shirt and a pair of brown crop pants. She was confused, “Should I take a shower?”
She sniffed her underarms. There was no fowl or any smell at all. Yet she splashed some deodorant before stepping out from the closet. Aroma of food was seeping inside the bedroom from the hall.
She found Roman started cleaning the kitchen. Seeing her he said, “Looking fresh.”
Julia smiled, said nothing, joined Roman in cleaning. The cleaning was over before the food in the oven was ready. Julia started setting up the table. Roman lit a candle. Julia turned off the lights in the hall and turned on her Christmas lights. Roman looked around and praised, “Wow. You have quite a taste, lady!”
Julia was surprised and confused. She did not understand if Roman’s praise was genuine or he was mocking her for those blue and green rice chains that she used to cover the empty walls and the icicles on the windows. There were red and green lights on the Christmas Tree by the window giving off the festive vibes. The golden yellow lights were adding softness to the general wintry, mysterious environment of the room.
Roman roamed around the room and touched every piece of decoration. After a complete round he asked, “Do you change the decorations every season?”
Julia confirmed, “Yes. The tree would go into trash by next Tuesday, the day before the day of trash pickup in the community. The lights would not change much. I’ll try to make flowers with all the yellow, red and blue lights. Then I’ll hang them on the windows, by the walls wherever I find suitable.”
Roman wanted to know, “You get a lot of time because you skip commuting to the office.”
Julia agreed, “True. The lean and mean business does not just save money, but also saves time. Whenever I need to switch from technical to operational job, I put my hands in decorating the hall as a break. Ten minutes to thirty minutes to switch my thoughts from the tasks of one kind to the tasks of another kind. While getting stuck in coding, I try decorating the hall. While I get stuck in finding solutions to some issues - both in business and technology - I put my hands in decorating the hall. I just try to maintain a theme matching the season of the year.”
Roman smiled. He did not think that after avoiding him with all her might, Julia would open up sharing details of her work process and leisure. For more than half a year, they met at two different cafes, almost everyday. Their talks used to be limited to business, technology, mathematics. They used to solve their business and technological issues over those meetings. Even if they started talking about their respective interests in books, movies, music, art and culture, travel, cooking and recipes, they shut each other up as soon as they stumbled upon one rigid end - their spouses.
Roman was overwhelmed that one bold step from Julia eased up a thousand steps that Roman wanted to take. Yet, to become a real couple, free from his parent’s inference, he needs the most part of the year. He felt tempted, he felt sad. He felt his affection for Julia was irresistible. He remained conscious that he should not bring Julia into the mess that he and his parents’ created.
Julia felt restless. She was surprised at how she blabbered about her life at work and at home with Roman. She was sad that Roman had already refused to move forward in the relationship that he was pursuing hard over the most part of the past year. Julia was upset that she could not let go of her feelings for Roman and the way she was inviting Roman to her very personal spaces, alluring him to her own lair. Julia was happy and excited that she was with Roman and there was no shadow of faceless spouses and adultery on the part of any one of them.
Julia praised, “You cooked well.”
Roman acknowledged, “Thanks.”
He mentioned, “I missed preparing a soup to go with these buns.”
Julia showed the spill of the liquid on the baking tray, “No need for soup. These Buns are quite juicy. The broth from meat and vegetables soaked the buns so much that they melted in the mouth.”
Roman nodded, “You’re being too kind.”
Julia protested, “No. I’m not.”
After they finished eating, Roman started doing the dishes, Julia put the leftovers into the boxes. By the time she opened the refrigerator to put the food into it, Roman had turned on the dishwasher. He took a few steps to look into the refrigerator to choose what he could have for dessert.
Julia turned around to take the boxes from the kitchen table top at the same time. Their breaths were flowing to each other like a warm breeze. They felt the melting moments. They stood still like that for a few seconds.
Julia felt that her feet and her lips were glued. Neither could she move backward nor could she speak something to ease up the tension of the moment. She felt a chill on her spine. She was anxious if Roman could hear her loud heart beats. Before her eyes, in the misty lights of the season was Roman’s shoulder. She was just a heartbeat away from trembling.
Roman was wary of the closeness with Julia. He was anxious that his heart was beating too fast and Julia might get a hint of that. He felt dazed and unable to move his limbs. He felt the wild blood flow that was about to cause a rise in between his legs. He was looking at Julia’s eyes and their gazes did not meet. He held a breath and tried to grab the kitchen table top. He got the rectangular glass box with leftover food in his grip. He passed the box to Julia.
Julia grabbed the box and turned back. Roman asked, “Where’s the bathroom?”
Julia murmured, “By the end of the hall on the left.”
She managed to raise her voice, “Use the folded towels. Those are all washed clean.”
As soon as she was done in the kitchen, she changed the lights in the hall into soft daylights with a few stands in the hall. She found that her consciousness was occupied with the sound of the shower in the bathroom. She sighed, muttered, “It’s his idea to see each other, it’s his idea to abstain … Even if I beg him a thousand times, he would not move forward until we’re divorced.”
She heard a resolute voice in her mind, “And I respect that honesty.”
Julia was surfing through financial news till Roman stepped out from the bathroom. He sneezed a few times. Julia turned the heater up by two more degrees. She offered, “Enter the bedroom. By the dresser, you’ll find the hair dryer.”
Roman shrugged, “No need. Hair will be dried soon, by room temperature.”
Julia did not argue. She turned her attention to the financial news. Roman suggested, “Let’s watch some comedy.”
They watched a horror comedy. The movie ended before the year end, before the midnight fireworks started cracking. Roman suggested, “Let’s go out.”
Julia put on a clog boot, a coat and put on a scarf around her neck.
Roman put on his clothes and Julia handed him over a woolen scarf, from the Channel Winter Collection of the year. She said, “New Year’s gift.”
Roman expressed his happiness and gratitude, “Thanks. I can feel the warmth.”
As they stepped outside a Lexus LC 500 honked and flashed from the roadside parking. The convertible top started folding to the back. Julia’s eyes lit up in excitement. She asked, “Is that your car?”
Roman handed over the keyfob to Julia, “Your car. New Year’s gift.”
Julia forgot all her grievances, she threw all her limbs in different directions and jumped up in the air and shrieked like a vixen. Roman confessed, “Did not expect this reaction from a stone faced cold woman always scheming for her business. Nor from the computer programmer who remains oblivious of the mundane matters of the real world.”
Julia felt shy. She blabbered, “I feel happy about new purses, new shoes and many accessories like transparent umbrellas. I did not know that any other car than a Volkswagen Beetle, convertible, can make me so excited.”
There fell a joyful glitter in Roman’s eyes. He tried to remember purses, shoes, accessories like transparent umbrellas and Volkswagen Beetles. He was scheming about a future, “For making up after small fights I must be ready with purses, shoes, transparent umbrellas and for big ones, I must spend a fortune to give her a Volkswagen Beetle.”
Julia held Roman's hand and dragged him to the new car. Julia drove along the freeways for an hour. Later she found a spot near Astoria and parked the car by the carb to take a break. Roman took the wheels, he drove to a parking lot in the building near his office. After parking the car, he handed over the keyfob to Julia again. Then he pulled out another keyfob from his pocket. With that keyfob he opened the trunk of the car parked in the next lot.
Looking at Julia’s gape he explained, “This's my car. I’ve rented this lot for you for the whole year.”
He brought out a cover from the trunk of his car and spread the cover over Julia’s car. Before covering the windshield, he took a sticker from the pocket of his coat and pasted the sticker on the windshield of Julia’s car. The sticker had a barcode on it. The name of the parking lot and the spot number for Julia’s car was printed on it.
Roman kept explaining, “The sticker is two-way, can be read from outside as well as from inside. For hassle free scanning we put it on the outer surface of the windshield.”
After that, he asked, “Let’s get out of here.”
Even the cold wind outside the parking lot could not bring Julia to her senses. She was floating in the foaming charm of Roman. Roman was all smiles. Things went in the same way as he wanted them to be. The whole evening and the night was a success. He started believing that in a year he would move forward several miles in his relationship with Julia.
Roman hopped on a cab and dragged Julia along. She asked, “Where are we going?”
Roman used one word, “Back.”
Julia stepped out from the cab, Roman did not. He said, “Call me when you step inside your apartment.”
Julia felt that her senses started to rebel. She dragged her feet over the pavement and opened the apartment community gate and like a machine drifted over the stairs and to her apartment. In the meantime, the rebel was dissipated with an overwhelming sense, “Whatever I say, Roman would not listen. He has a thousand ways to get what he wants. He did not say a thing about business since he stepped inside my apartment earlier. But he made me fall for his tricks with that B-word.”
She called Roman, “I’m inside.”
Roman said, “Sleep well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
They met on New Year’s day at Julia’s place. Roman brought his car and they drove around the city and laughed a lot till the streets started getting empty.
They met the day after, and the day after that day. They kept meeting at BizTalk Cafe from Tuesday to Thursday, and at the cafe in Julia’ neighborhood from Friday to Monday. The reason for meeting either was what their lawyer’s said to one of them about their divorce or was anything else about the divorce or business or gossip about the business or technology. In the end, there was a satisfaction that the time spent was very carefree and happy. The time spent together was mundane, not memorable but joyful and why they met became irrelevant in the end.
On the day they went to the courthouse to receive the divorce decree, Roman picked Julia up in a cab. The judge asked, “You looked happy together. Why did you file for divorce?”
Julia said, “He was never around for the most part of our marriage.”
Roman complained, “She showed no interest in the marriage for the most part of the marriage. She asked me out when she wanted this divorce.”
The judge asked, “It seems you two hit it off from there.”
Julia bit her tongue to think about an appropriate answer and avoided an instant reaction that could have ruined the whole process of divorce. Roman was ready with his answer, “We agreed on the matter of divorce. That made me happy. I think Julia is happy because I did not give her a hard time agreeing to divorce her.”
Julia chimed in, “We did not fight over our assets and compensations. We did not have children - rights and responsibilities over children did not become an issue. The process is very peaceful. I’m very happy.”
The judge was curious, “Why did you not think of having children?”
Both answered in unison, “We never consummated our marriage.”
The judge frowned in disbelief, “So young. Yet so restrained …”
Leaving the family court, Roman asked Julia, “What’s the plan?”
Julia chattered, “I’ll hop on a few bars. I’ll sway on a few dance floors. All girls in the college did these things as soon as they turned twenty-one. I could not. I could not even enjoy fraternity home parties to avoid adultery. I’m twenty-four. I wanna do everything that I could not do because of the marriage.”
Roman stroked Julia’s head and appeased her, “I’ll accompany you.”
They roam around the streets, hand in hand, on foot. They bought flowers for each other. They hopped on the bars and drank. They ate and they kept posting the photos of their day out in the Ybarra-Coppola family group chat. The father’s Jeremy and Ronald encouraged with thumbs up. The mothers Judith and Eva sent emoticons of red heart and wow.
By the end of the day, Eva asked, “What’s the occasion?”
Judith showed unconditional support, “We’re happy for you two.”
Then Julia posted the photo of the divorce decree.
All the buzz in the otherwise silent group was killed.
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