Mollie McQueen is NOT Getting Divorced Read online

  Maximilian McQueen might look the same as he did back when they first met, but inside he couldn’t be more different. His blonde hair still fell in front of his face and he had mysteriously maintained his impressive physique. His chiselled jaw continued to be peppered with stubble and the same lone tattoo resided on his right wrist. Just like Mollie, to look at him, he had hardly aged a day, but that’s where the similarities ended.

  Mollie hoped that once they separated, Max would find himself again. She hoped that he would learn to love himself in the way she used to love him. She hoped that he would finally get off his backside and get a job. She hoped that he would regain his self-respect, his drive and his ambition. She hoped that he wouldn’t mention edible toilet paper ever again, and she hoped that…

  Mollie’s silent ramblings came to an abrupt stop when she realised someone was staring back at her through the tinted shop window. Blushing with embarrassment, she offered the perturbed man a polite wave and quickly continued on her way.

  As she walked along the street, Mollie turned her attention to the many loved-up people around her. A young couple walked hand in hand on the other side of the road, laughing merrily with one another. Their innocent giggles danced in the air, sending a message out to everyone around them that they were deliriously happy and didn’t care who knew it.

  Mollie cast the pair a sideways glance and resisted the urge to tell them to run for the hills. She remembered being as happy as they were. The days before Max would leave the toilet door open and forget to brush his teeth in the morning were filled with a laughter just like theirs. Over time, their giggles evolved into inaudible grunts and their adventurous sex life fizzled out to the point Mollie got more action at a Marks and Spencer bra fitting.

  Looking over her shoulder, Mollie watched the young couple disappear into an ice cream parlour. She wondered if she would ever find a love like that again. The kind of love where you want to rip one another’s clothes off felt so out of reach to her. Almost as though it had happened in a previous lifetime, but Mollie was determined she would feel that again. She was adamant someone would look at her in that way. That someone would make her feel like the only girl in the world once more.

  With her court documents in her handbag, she felt more confident than ever that it would happen for her. She wasn’t going to let Max put her off the male population for life. There would be men out there who wouldn’t let themselves go as Max had, and who would be happy to work at keeping the fire in their marriage. It wouldn’t be fair of her to tar all men with the same brush, Mollie was very aware of that, and as such, she was prepared to allow herself another chance at love.

  Continuing on her way, she glanced at an elderly couple who were waiting at a bus stop and flashed them a friendly smile. Their toothless grins raised Mollie’s spirits as she watched them bicker about the unreliable bus service. Wearing matching raincoats and identical bifocal glasses, they pointed at the faded timetable in front of them.

  ‘Phyliss! I’m telling you, it is fifteen minutes late!’

  ‘You’re looking at the wrong day, Alfred! It isn’t even due yet.’

  ‘I’m quite capable of knowing what bloody day it is, thank you very much.’

  ‘Well, you’re not capable of taking your teeth out at night, so I very much doubt that!’ Phyliss snapped, hitting Alfred with her handbag. ‘If I have to fish your dentures out of the bed sheets one more time…’

  Suppressing a laugh, Mollie tugged her handbag onto her shoulder and crossed the street. She could have told them that Alfred was looking at the right day and the bus service was indeed running late, but in the spirit of female solidarity, she decided to keep this to herself. After all, putting up with Alfred’s false teeth in her bedspread probably entitled Phyliss to be right from time to time, even when she was wrong…

  Chapter 4

  Laying down her picnic blanket, Mollie sat cross-legged on the grass and kicked off her trainers. After leaving Kenny’s office earlier, she had planned on heading straight home, but something inside Mollie drew her to the park. Call it animal instinct or self-preservation, but Mollie just didn’t want to be in the same room as Max. Telling him she wanted a divorce had most likely hit him hard, and she wanted to give him some time to process the situation before she returned to the house.

  Hearing I’m leaving you five minutes after he had rolled out of bed probably wasn’t the most pleasant way he could have been informed of Mollie’s intention to split, but just what was the right way to tell him something like that? When he decided to use the toilet while Mollie brushed her teeth? While he was using his socks as a makeshift ball and the towel hamper as a net? While he was on the phone to his web designer looking for an explanation as to why he wasn’t receiving orders for onion bhajis?

  Deep down, Mollie knew that it didn’t really matter when or where she told Max. Although their relationship had been dead in the water for years, she had a feeling Maximilian wouldn’t have been expecting her to pull the plug. Being so consumed with himself and his own ventures, Mollie wouldn’t have been surprised if Max hadn’t noticed the state of their relationship. On one hand, she believed it to be impossible for him to be unaware of their sexless marriage, but she also knew Max better than anyone else in the world. Lately, she could have shaved her head and Max would have been none the wiser. So, at this stage in their floundering relationship, absolutely nothing would surprise her.

  Stretching out her legs, Mollie lay back on the picnic blanket and used her denim jacket as a cushion. The sky up above was an idyllic shade of blue, and Mollie allowed her eyes to relax as she got comfortable. As a young girl, she used to spend so much time dreaming about her wedding day, but not once did she commit a single second to worrying about how her marriage could end. Mollie couldn’t help but think as far as separations go, this was up there with the best. The sun was shining, she was smiling, and the rest of the world was smiling with her.

  As she brushed her fringe out of her face, Mollie noticed how strange her finger felt without her bridal set. She would miss her beautiful opal and intricate gold band, but without them, she felt liberated. In the same way that dancing around her bedroom completely naked after her evening shower did. It was a feeling that just couldn’t be paralleled.

  Mollie studied her finger and ran her thumb over the squashed white line where her rings normally resided. She wondered if it would ever spring back to life, or if it would remain crushed forever. Her mother’s hand had been the same for as long as Mollie could remember, and she would often joke it was part of her penance for marrying her father.

  Thinking of her parents made Mollie question how they would react to her news. Like a lot of other married couples, Mollie had fallen into the habit of putting on an Oscar-worthy performance in front of her parents, and Max’s, for that matter. As far as they were aware, everything was just hunky-dory. They were all oblivious to the fact Mollie was smiling through gritted teeth and breathed a sigh of relief the moment she waved them goodbye and shut the door. Yes, Mollie McQueen had become quite the actress in recent years, but her ability to hide her true feelings wasn’t going to help her with explaining the separation to her parents and the rest of her family.

  Now that she thought about it, Mollie decided that maybe she should formulate a plan for telling her nearest and dearest about her decision to leave Maximilian. Somehow, the tearing-off-the-plaster approach didn’t feel quite right. As she mulled over her options, Mollie came to the conclusion that her sister, Margot, would be her first port of call. Being a successful, independent woman, Mollie presumed Margot would understand her choice to walk away from her miserable marriage. Unlike Mollie, Margot had never married and was perfectly happy focusing on her career.

  While Mollie was choosing seating plans and booking wedding venues, Margot was flying the flag for working women everywhere. As a successful GP in leafy Brentwood, Margot’s life revolved around her work and not much more. Despite being almost five years older than
her little sister, Margot was child-free, husband-free and deliriously happy to be so. When they were just a couple of kids, it didn’t take a genius to work out those two little girls were going to grow up to be very different women indeed.

  While Mollie was obsessed with playing house and dressing her dolls, Margot preferred to spend her time in the garden. Taking pictures of bumblebees on her grandfather’s Polaroid camera and offering them to the neighbours in exchange for bonbons was her favourite pastime. Her love for the outdoors, books and flowers made a stark difference to Mollie’s bossy and sometimes demanding nature. When she wasn’t ordering her parents to push her dolls around in the house in a pram, Mollie enjoyed forcing her teddy bears to act out afternoon tea in her bedroom. Mollie’s unpredictable temper resulted in said teddy bears missing various limbs and eyes, but the less said about that the better.

  Pulling her phone out of the depths of her handbag, Mollie brought up her sister’s name and hovered her finger over the keyboard. For reasons unknown to her, telling Margot suddenly seemed more daunting than telling Max. Considering the two sisters hadn’t spoken since their spa date a few weeks ago, Mollie wasn’t sure a quick… Hey! Just to let you know, I’m leaving Max. Must meet for gin soon! Hugs, Mollie xoxo message would go down too well.

  Tapping the screen, Mollie started to compose a message. After typing and deleting for over ten minutes, she settled on a basic… Let’s do lunch soon. When are you free? xoxo and tossed the handset onto the blanket. Margot’s reaction would give her a clue as to how her parents would react to her shock news.

  Heather and Lawrence Waddles had always been so very fond of Max and that would only make this trickier for Mollie. Of course, they were aware of just how lazy Maximilian could be. Lawrence made numerous references to Max’s pipe-dreaming attitude, but they were both of the firm opinion he had a heart of gold. So much so they constantly reminded Mollie just how lucky she was to have found a genuine man in a world full of narcissistic, egotistical people.

  Not wanting to cloud their judgement of Max, Mollie never begged to differ and kept her opinion of her husband to herself. Not that she could complain about her parents’ loving attitude towards Max. After all, his parents were more in love with Mollie than hers were with him. Ralph and Tiffany McQueen had been the best in-laws Mollie could ever have wished for. Not only were they incredibly generous, they had also become great friends to Mollie. Especially Tiffany. Tiffany Delilah McQueen frequently referred to Mollie as the daughter she never had. To say she had been besotted with Mollie from the very beginning would be an understatement.

  A sense of unease settled over Mollie as she looked around the busy park. She hadn’t really considered how Ralph and Tiffany would handle the split. Mollie couldn’t envisage a future without Tiffany in it, but perhaps she didn’t have to. She was leaving Max, not his family. Was there some unwritten rule in a separation that said she had to pretend Max’s family didn’t exist anymore? Did she have to start crossing the street when she saw them in the city? Did she have to foam at the mouth with rage when someone dared to mention the McQueen family name?

  Laughing at her ability to jump to the worst-case scenario, Mollie reached for her phone as it pinged by her feet. Ralph and Tiffany would understand her decision to separate from their lazy son, she was sure of it. They were two of the most fun-loving, relaxed people she had ever met. If they could breeze past Max’s beard braiding business plan without so much as batting an eyelid, giving them news of the separation should be a piece of cake.

  Tapping the message icon, Mollie brought up the reply from Margot and felt a frisson of adrenaline. She had agreed to meet Mollie for lunch tomorrow. In less than twenty-four hours, news of her split would be out there. That is, if Max hadn’t beaten her to it. She hadn’t spoken to him since leaving the house that morning. For all Mollie knew, Max had hired a removal van and informed each and every one of his eight hundred and four Facebook friends their marriage was over.

  Suddenly intrigued to know the reality of how Max had reacted to her rather abrupt announcement, Mollie tapped out a reply to Margot and quickly packed away her picnic blanket. Mollie might have thought she knew Maximilian better than he knew himself, but you never truly know someone until you divorce them…

  Chapter 5

  As she slipped her key into the lock, Mollie peered through the glass and allowed herself a deep breath before stepping into the house. The cramped hallway was quiet, and the newspaper on the mat was just as she had left it hours earlier. As far as she could see, not much had happened in the time she had been away.

  Carefully picking up the newspaper, Mollie tucked it under her arm and cautiously walked into the dining room. Max’s battered Converse were carelessly tossed in the doorway, indicating that he was still there. Casting them a scowl, Mollie dumped her handbag on the table and followed the sound of animated grunting through the house. You would be forgiven for thinking the heavy moaning and intense groans belonged to an amorous pig, but Mollie had been with Max long enough to recognise his voice when she heard it.

  Upon entering the dark living room, Mollie threw her arms into the air when she discovered her husband sprawled out on the sofa. Huddled beneath the duvet with his gamepad in his hands, Max was surrounded by discarded chocolate wrappers and empty beer bottles.

  ‘Max!’ She exclaimed, marching across the room and turning on the light. ‘What the hell is going on in here?’

  Not looking up from the television, Max continued to play his game regardless. Various shooting noises fired out of the speakers, causing Mollie’s blood to boil.

  ‘Max!’ Picking up a cushion and batting him with it, she positioned herself in front of the screen.

  ‘Why aren’t you dressed?’ She demanded furiously. ‘Have you been here all day?’

  ‘There’s couscous in the fridge.’ He mumbled, straining his neck to see past her.

  Staring at him in disbelief, Mollie shook her head angrily.

  ‘Couscous?’ She repeated. ‘You’re seriously talking about couscous at a time like this?’

  Not dignifying her with a response, Max shrugged and moved to the other side of the sofa to continue playing his game.

  ‘This morning, I told you I wanted a divorce.’ Mollie said through gritted teeth. ‘What is the matter with you?’

  ‘Dinner is in the fridge.’ Draining the contents of his beer, Max peered into the empty bottle before placing it on the floor. ‘What more do you want me to say?’

  Completely lost for words, Mollie felt her jaw drop open. If she needed any more validation that she was doing the right thing, Max had just given it to her in spades. For a moment, she debated drumming it into him, but the way he refused to make eye contact with her told Mollie she needn’t bother. He hadn’t spent all day planning his future, dating the hot blonde next door or dividing their CD collection. No, Maximilian had spent the day like he had every other. He just didn’t believe her. This was his way of calling her bluff and Mollie knew it.

  Shaking off her jacket, Mollie retreated into the dining room before stopping in her tracks and turning back.

  ‘Max?’ She said gently, leaning against the doorframe. ‘I need you to know that I meant what I said this morning.’

  ‘About me cutting my toenails in bed?’ He grinned, finally looking up from the television.

  Mollie managed a tiny smile and shook her head.

  ‘I’m talking about the divorce.’ She replied softly. ‘I still want us to separate.’

  A scowl appeared on Max’s face as he threw back the duvet to reveal he was in his boxer shorts. Without saying a word, he reached down to a cool box by his side and retrieved another beer. After using a bottle opener on his keyring, he concentrated on slowly peeling off the label. Mollie watched in quiet confusion as Max opened and closed his mouth before deciding to keep whatever it was he wanted to say to himself.

  ‘I went to see a lawyer.’ She said, edging closer to him. ‘He was talking me thro
ugh the options available to us.’

  ‘Options available to us.’ Max repeated sarcastically, taking a rubber band off the pile of opened letters next to him and slipping it into his pocket. ‘You make it sound like we’re booking an all-inclusive holiday.’

  In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Mollie allowed herself to laugh.

  ‘We don’t need to make this difficult, Max.’ Taking a seat on the arm of the sofa, she pulled the duvet over her lap. ‘It can be as hard or as easy as we make it.’

  Responding by raising his eyebrows sceptically, Max took another swig from the bottle in his hand.

  ‘Kenny, the divorce lawyer, he advised me that perhaps a separation would be better for us.’ Mollie explained, hoping that Max wouldn’t protest. ‘A legal separation, that is. It’s not as scary as a divorce, or as costly, but it would give us a feel for how a divorce would be. To, you know, see if it is ultimately what we want?’

  ‘You mean, what you want?’ Max interrupted, flashing her an accusing look.

  Mollie felt her cheeks burn, but stuck to her guns regardless.

  ‘You can’t seriously think this is a happy marriage, Max.’

  ‘What marriage is happy?’ He retorted in anger. ‘If you think other married couples are swinging from the chandeliers every night, you’re sorely mistaken.’

  ‘There’s a bit of a jump from having a husband who sits in his underwear all day playing video games and one who swings from the chandeliers on a nightly basis.’ She replied, picking up an empty chocolate bar wrapper and throwing it into the bin. ‘You and I both know our romantic relationship ended a long time ago. We went from lovers to friends, and now we’re, well, I don’t even know what we are now. Just a couple of people who used to know each other, I guess.’

  A sad silence fell over them and Mollie felt a pang of grief hit her stomach as Max sighed heavily. Watching him twist his wedding band around his finger, Mollie was reminded that hers was still in Buddy Holly’s fishbowl.