Chapter 11 - Fruitless efforts

Lora tried contacting Ezra multiple times as Jenny stared at her from a chair on the other side of the room.

Maia ran back and forth to check up on them – she had to make sure they hadn't ripped each other's heads off – and do the rest of her job around the house.

And then Jenny moved her foot impatiently, and Lora made another phone call from her bed as she placed her legs under herself to avoid moving around nervously.

"Anything happened yet?" Jenny started moving her fingers rapidly.

"Nothing yet, sorry," Lora said and dropped her phone on the bed. "I'm really sorry, I thought he would answer me."

"You know the feeling then," Jenny said with a fake laugh. "At first you believe everything is sunshine and flowers, you know there will be hardships, but you will stand through them together. You will weather the storms and come out the other side, stronger." She took a deep breath and sighed. "And then reality hits you. Out of nowhere, a great big meteor slams through your world destroying all life and hope." She could feel Lora's eyes on her, but she didn't look up. "But I can still hope Lora. I still believe – not in him of course – but in love. Just because one person lets you down doesn't mean everyone will."

"So, what will you do?" Lora asked and moved over so she was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I'm divorcing him."

Maia ran around the house looking for a very special dress. She had had her date planned for ages, and Jenny had promised her, that she could borrow one of her casual dresses. It was perfect for an outing in the late summertime. And this date had to be perfect since she had so little time off. And now the dress was missing! It was probably sent to washing, but Maia didn't remember taking it there. It was not in the closet, it was not in the washer, and it was not in the dryer. And now Lora and Jenny were talking about who knows what, and Maia wasn't there to hear it.

"You are divorcing him?" Lora asked with surprise. This changed everything, she thought, before she could help what she was thinking. But she wasn't sure that it would change it for the better.

"I am." Jenny nodded. "I was planning on telling him today when he came home. It seemed the right time, with everything that was going on, why not let the avalanche keep rolling, I thought." Jenny smiled vaguely. "It would be great, like a slap to his face. He would come home, thinking he would do everything, but he wouldn't know that this was the last drop. That he couldn't do just anything."

Lora nodded, "I understand," she paused, "but are you sure you want to do it like this?"

Jenny lifted her eyebrows slowly as she turned her face towards Lora. "What do you mean,"

Lora took a deep breath, "I mean, maybe… Maybe you want to plan it out first. Maybe you don't want to make any drastic decisions." Lora took another breath, her eyes moving away from Jenny's as she kept talking. "I have learned a few things and… one of them is… well," she said and fumbled over her words. "Well, one of them is to make sure you don't act on a burst of emotions. You have to think it through, or else, you might… You might ruin your own life in the process. Don't do that. Please listen to me, don't DO that."

Jenny blinked a couple of times before she said anything. "I am listening to you." She paused and stood up. "All right. I will wait a while," she said and walked towards the door, but before she left, she turned her head towards Lora. "You can stop calling him now. It doesn't matter where he – not to me anyway."

Maia returned to Jenny's room to put away the laundry when she heard a car pull up in the driveway. She immediately put down the clothes on the bed without putting them away and ran out so she could see the driveway. A black car had pulled up, but not parked, and its engine was still running. Then she saw Ezra Huxley step out of the car. He leaned in towards the driver before he stepped entirely out and slammed the car door behind him.

Oh no, Maia thought, as she looked at Mr Huxley, who was staring at the car as it drove away before he turned around and walked for the entrance. Oh no, Maia thought again and ran for Lora's room to tell Jenny.

"Mrs Huxley, Mrs Huxley," Maia said as she entered Lora's room without knocking.

Lora looked up with her mouth slightly open, "she is not here. What is it?"

Maia blinked, "Sorry, sorry, miss. Can you tell me where she is? It's Mr Huxley, he is home."

"Ezra is home? Oh, I better go do… something," she said and hurried over to the closet to get dressed.

Maia blinked and kept staring at her.

"Right," Lora said, "I don't think you should worry about her. She left."

"LEFT?" Maia took a deep breath, "sorry, she left? To where?"

"I don't know," Lora answered, "but I don't think she is home at the moment."