Kiana sighed and began telling the story briefly, without unnecessary detail.
Shauna listened silently, occasionally gasping.
When Kiana finished, her friend exhaled slowly.
“Well, I’ll be… both the mother and the son. But now it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that it’s over.”
“It’s over.”
“All right, Kiki, are you filing for divorce?”
“Of course. I’ll go to the county clerk’s office next week to find out what I need.”
“And he won’t fight it?”
Kiana shook her head, although Shauna couldn’t see her.
“He won’t. He’s probably relieved I didn’t file a report on his mother. So we’ll settle everything quickly and quietly.”
“Listen, how are you feeling right now? You’re there all alone. You must be sad.”
Kiana thought about it.
“You know, surprisingly, I’m not sad. I feel relief—more like a weight lifted off my shoulders. For five years, I lived with the feeling that something was wrong. And now I realize it wasn’t me who was wrong. It was him and his mother.”
Shauna was silent for a moment, then said gently,
“Come over tonight. We’ll have tea and talk. It’s lonely sitting there by yourself.”
“Thanks. I’ll come.”
After the call, Kiana got dressed and went out.
She needed to walk, clear her head, and distract herself from her thoughts.
She wandered through familiar streets, looking at store windows and watching people.
Everything seemed new, as if she were looking at the world with fresh eyes.
She lingered in the bookstore for about twenty minutes, flipping through new releases, and bought a mystery novel and a collection of short stories.
She had been wanting to read something light and unstressful for a long time.
As she stepped outside, she bumped into her neighbor, Ms. Mabel.
Ms. Mabel lived one floor up and was known throughout the building for her love of gossip.
“Kiki, hello.”
Ms. Mabel beamed, pressing her hand to her chest.
