Something BETTER

He had walked away from their marriage — and now he was back

- Glynis Scrivens

Why has John rung me after all this time?’ Liz asked herself. It was five months since he’d moved out.

She chopped carrots and sliced runner beans from her vegetable patch, adding them to the minced meat and onions, which were browning nicely in the pan.

She’d invited him to dinner - or actually he’d half-invited himself.

‘We could go to a restaurant,’ he’d begun. ‘Or perhaps...?’

‘I’m making shepherd’s pie tonight,’ she'd said before she’d really thought about it. It had always been his favourite meal.

‘I could bring a bottle of Merlot?’

And she’d agreed.

She glanced up at the kitchen clock, a wedding present from the accountancy firm where they had both worked. It was already half past five. He’d be here in an hour.

She felt a flutter of nerves, hoping she wouldn't regret tonight. She’d already made too many mistakes with John. Or that’s how it felt. It was only recently, while seeing a therapist, that she was beginning to see things in a different light.

Disagreeing with John wasn't a mistake, it simply showed they held different opinions. ‘That’s a healthy sign,’ the therapist had said. It hadn’t felt like it at the time.

And then she’d come home from a business trip and found all his belongings gone. Plus the big-screen TV.

A note propped up against their wedding photo simply said he was looking for ‘something better’.

By this time, they were working in different buildings, since she’d been promoted to head office. That simplified things. But it didn’t simplify her feelings when she subsequently spotted John in The Crown after work, his arm around a younger woman who worked on reception.

‘If he came back to you, could you trust him again?’ the therapist asked.

‘I don’t know,’ was Liz’s answer.

Now, as she cooked the meal they’d eat together, she still didn’t know.

For the umpteenth time, she listed the possibilities out loud as she began to peel the potatoes.