Part II: That Face.

There she was, standing by his car.

She looked good. Fit. She had always been thay way. Restless but with purpose.

Looking at her phone. Tapping away, sending someone a command, or receiving information that will help her make the next decision.

Always moving forward.
She had always said, "You stop, you die." It seemed to be an incredible motivator for her. It worked too. She had done very well in her career.
As soon as she was bored, wham, she was looking at the employment classified to find her next challenge, higher pay and better conditions.
She was assertive and well networked. She had always been an achiever. It was what had attracted him to her. Not that he had had a choice, she had told him they were a thing. She had needed him to keep her in balance. She had a habit of pushing herself until she crashed into a sobbing mess. A few burnt out days where she cried and wanted to give up. But he had been there to lift her back up

Her green eyes focused on him as he approached.

"Hi." He said.
"Hi." She replied. "We have that meeting with the Principal."
"Yes, I know"
"Then why didn't you reply to my message?"

She was annoyed already. He knew it wasn't because of him. That was just a distraction. She always did that when something was troubling her. He knew the reason had nothing to do with the message.

She didn't wait for him to reply.

"We have to walk in together. It will look bad otherwise. We have to make a good impression. We listen, we nod, we work out a plan, and then we make it right! Ok!"

He nodded.

Their eldest son attended an expensive Catholic School. So, to keep up the appearance of a happy family, well, at least as happy as one that was going through a divorce, could look. It made sense to walk in together.

"Simon says that we will probably need to sign a counselling plan."

That was a hit to the back of the head, base of the skull, painful pressure. A metaphorical baseball bat in combination with the metaphorical kick to the metaphorical balls.

Simon. Her new love. How had she put it?
"Her Soul Mate."
Simon had been a personal trainer at the gymnaseum they had both attended.
Part of her fitness goal for them both. She had decided that she wanted a personal trainer to get quicker results.
He didn't mind. This had given him time to stay at home with the boys. He also enjoyed preparing dinner and watching some of his favourite shows.
He had an interest in World War 2 which she thought was a waste of time. According to her, living in the past didn't benefit anyone.

Then slowly, Simon's name started to enter into conversations. He was a handsome guy, super fit and super motivated. "Simon thinks, Simon says". He had stopped playing that "Simon Says" game back in high school. He was jealous of Simon. She adored him. What could he do?

He used to be her rock. Her foundation. When she was younger she had been unstable and erratic. He had been stable and logical.

They had met at a company. She was a trainee sales executive and he was starting out in sales administration.

They had been a dynamic team. Anytime she was going through a bad patch, he was there to say the right thing, to give her the solution to her problem. He had been there. She had needed him. The Ying and the Yang.

But, that was then. Simon was now.

"Do you have to make that face?" She broke his thinking.

"What face?"

" You always make, that face, when you don't like something. Let's just get this over with. Park in the front carpark and we'll meet just outside the entrance."

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Part I: Despondent