“I’ll See You Around Some Day”
Richie was wrapping up a busy day. Miss Peeg left at 4:30 and he was still wondering about the call he had from Michael Stanley, Michael wanted to talk to him. He stared at his phone, Toni he knew had been back in the Glen for a few days and he’d been half hoping she’d call because they needed to talk. He hadn’t done anything legally yet about a property division. That was about the only thing he could do until a year’s separation was over.
He hesitated a moment and checked his watch, she should still be at the clinic if she was still working. With all McGee’s millions she may not be, he thought. What the hell, he dialed the number of her clinic.
“Toni.”
“Richie,” Toni sat back down at her desk. “I’ve been meaning to call you.”
“Yeah, why didn’t you?”
“I just…didn’t know what to say.”
“I’d like to see you, we need to get some things settled.”
“Where are you?”
“Still at the office, can you drop by for a minute?”
“Um, yeah I can leave now I was just closing up.”
“I’ll wait for you.” Richie hung up the phone and got up and paced he wasn’t sure he was ready for this.
Toni parked outside Richie’s office, in a way she was glad to get this over with but she hadn’t counted on a face to face meeting with him. She took a deep breath and went in his office.
She sat across the desk from him looking everywhere but at him. He was watching her face.
“This is not easy Richie.”
“I can see that. So ah how’s your mother.”
“Um she’s great, doing very well…stays busy.”
“Michael called me today and wants to talk, know anything about that?”
“No, no I haven’t talked to him. I haven’t had time since I got home to go see him.”
“Yeah, where is home now you staying with McGee?”
“Well…yes, I was gonna stay at his beach house but, um, that didn’t happen. I hear you’re at Millie’s.”
“Yeah, I moved in there after I talked to you on the phone. I went to the house and got a few things, clothes, the little TV, my computer.”
“Look, um, about the house, you can take anything you want I just want my Grandmother’s things and my clothes.”
“Yeah, well, I thought about that, I want my den stuff, weight room and the bedroom furniture from the big guest room if that’s okay.”
“Yeah sure, anything I mean, I’m not going to live there.”
“Neither am I, I couldn’t bear to walk through it.”
“I’m sorry Richie.”
“No you aren’t…but that’s okay I’ve been through the range of emotions, still a little raw but it will scab over. How long has it been going on Toni?”
“It hasn’t Richie, until I ran into him at the airport I hadn’t seen him or talked to him since I um went back home. I haven’t been seeing him.”
“You just happened to run into him at the airport, I’m supposed to believe that?”
“That’s the truth, I had no idea he was there, it doesn’t matter now anyway does it? “
“I guess not. Uh, what do you want to do about the bank accounts?”
“I don’t want anything, checking and savings that’s yours. I’ll keep my own checking account.”
“I guess money is the least of your worries now.”
“That’s a low blow, you know I don’t care about that. The house, um…”
“I don’t want it, it was never mine anyway; just take my name off the deed. That was your money, your inheritance. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet.”
“Look Richie, this was not something I planned or thought about, it just happened. But it’s right for me”
Richie sat forward leaning his arms on his desk. “I’m not sure I believe that, I think it started when our troubles started. Oh sure I was shagging Jan, but you and McGee had something going too so don’t tell me it just happened at the airport, I’m not that stupid. But you’re right, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
Toni met his eyes and lifted her chin, “ So are you going to put this on paper, the property division?”
“Yeah I can do that. A year from now we can file jointly if that suits you, assuming a judge will permit the divorce.”
“What do you mean permit it?”
“He could say no, you haven’t tried because we weren’t married for two years. It could happen.”
“It won’t,” Toni began picking up her bag, “I did try, we both did for a while and it took us nowhere.” Toni stood up and looked toward Miss Peeg’s office something had caught her attention. She turned back to Richie, “You’ve got another visitor, I need to go.”
Richie frowned a moment and then remembered, Libby was probably out there in Miss Peeg’s office. “Toni, I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah, you probably will.” She met his eyes for a moment and turned and left passing by Libby without a side glance.
