Brisket

"The engagement ring was my grandmother's, as you know—that stays with me. The wedding rings we gave each other: you can do whatever the fuck you want to with them. Melt them down, throw them away—shove them up your ass. They stood for our love and fidelity to one another, and we both know what that's worth now, don't we?"

I moved to the coffee table and picked up a beautiful glass vase, mostly clear but shining with bright blue and green highlights. "Remember this, Helen? From Venice, the fifth anniversary gift we bought one another. It was really too expensive but we both loved it, and it kind of became a symbol of how precious we were to each other."

I raised my arms high, then threw the vase to the floor with all my strength. Helen cried out in pain as it shattered into tiny pieces.

"Not worth keeping anymore," I said coldly. I turned and picked up two photo albums, tossing them into the fireplace.

"Our wedding album and our family album. All the precious pictures, all the memories of what we meant to one another. No need for them now, right Helen?" I bent and poured lighter fluid on them, then struck a kitchen match and set them alight.

Helen lurched suddenly towards the fireplace to stop me, crying out, "No!" But I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to the couch, where she collapsed, sobbing. We both watched the flames consume the albums, and I gently patted the pocket where I'd put the pictures of our daughters that I'd rescued from the family book. My memories of the girls were still precious to me.

In a couple of minutes both books were ashes. Helen was still sobbing, her face turned away from me.

"Okay, Helen, that's it!" I said briskly, clapping my hands. "Show's over, and it's time for you to go."

When she didn't move, I grasped her arm firmly and pulled her to her feet, leading her towards the front door.

"Wait, Rob, wait!" she said, struggling to free herself. "You can't just... throw me out of here!"

"Actually I can, Helen, and I'm going to."

Her face showed her pain and her fear. "Without a word from me? Without letting me...explain what...what happened?"

I stepped back, looking at her for a long silent moment.

"Helen—do you really believe that there's anything you can say, any possible explanation you can give, that will ease my pain and my hurt? Anything that will make your cheating, your total betrayal and humiliation of me, more bearable? Anything AT ALL that can make this better—or less awful?"

"But...I haven't even said why I ..."

"Do you think I fucking care WHY?" I shouted at her. "Will knowing WHY you did this make me feel better? 'Okay, it's all fine, now that I know what Helen's reasons are'—are you out of your mind?"

She just looked at me, haggard, frightened, distraught, without speaking. Then after another long moment she said, "but what about the girls?"

"I drove to see Linda and Ronnie over the weekend. They both know about your cheating, and that I'm divorcing you."

"Oh, NO!" she cried out, and collapsed to the floor in sobs. I watched her for a few minutes. My beloved wife; the mother of my children; my life partner; my best, most trusted friend for a quarter of a century.

Then I left her there, on the floor in the front hall, while I loaded her suitcases into the trunk of her car. When I came back inside she was sitting, hollow-eyed, looking at nothing. Without a word I pulled her to her feet and walked her outside to the car.

The key was sitting on top of the car, and I left her standing by the driver's side door. I contemplated the right parting words, but nothing came to mind. "Goodbye, Helen" seemed a bit insufficient for the situation, and "fuck you, you cheating cunt" a bit unoriginal.

So I just left her there. I went back into the house and locked the door behind me. Then I stood there, in the front hall, not moving. Not really thinking. Waiting to hear the sound of Helen's car driving away.