Free Tristan's Loins by Karolyn Cairns

surreal."
    "You still love him, don't you?" Axel watched
her face closely.
    "I wouldn't say that, but I'm still hurting,"
Selene admitted and sighed. "I think it would have been different
if he hadn't done it all so coldblooded. If he met Ginny after we
split up maybe I'd be ok. I think that bothers me more, feeling
like a fool."
    "He's the fool." Selene saw his eyes darken
slightly. "That little blonde back at Ma Belle's is gonna take him
for a joy ride."
    "Yeah, Ginny is pretty transparent. Jim fell
for her pretty hard though."
    "What does your ex-husband do for a
living?"
    "He's an attorney," Selene said and could see
Axel's eyes widen slightly.
    "That explains the fancy car you drive. Most
teachers don't drive BMW's. Our principal doesn't even have one of
those."
    Selene was not about to defend the fact her
husband was wealthy. She knew Jim worked for everything he had. He
might be a louse, but she remembered he worked sixteen hours a day
to get his practice going when he started out.
    "My ex might be a colossal prick for what he
did to me, but he's a good attorney. He worked his ass off to get
where he is," she said defensively. "That's one thing I can't say
about Jim. He worked hard for everything he's got."
    "I'm not putting him down for being wealthy,
Selene. I made an observation."
    "It's ok, I just get that from a lot of the
teachers at the school," she said and smiled apologetically. "I
think many of them were pleased to see my marriage go caput, just
out of spite because we were wealthy."
    "Were?" he asked with a chuckle. "Don't tell
me Jimmy lost his ass in the divorce, did he?"
    Selene giggled and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he
had to buy me out of the house, our stocks, plus he paid off the
car. Then he had the nerve to ask for my new engagement ring back
because he could not afford to buy one for Ginny."
    Axel choked on his beer and laughed outright.
"You’re kidding?"
    "No, he called me yesterday and said he was
going to return it. He gave it to me for Christmas. What jewelry
store have you ever heard of accepts returns this late?"
    "None, good for you. Don't be nice about it.
Let him feel the burn," Axel said approvingly.
    "I know it's petty." Selene looked down, away
from his blue gaze." I should have given it back to him. I could
not stomach the idea of her flaunting it all over town. I can't
bring myself to even wear it."
    "It's the principle, I get it. Linda and her
boyfriend came to town for one of his gigs at a metal bar out on
Dort Highway one time. They wanted to stay at the house. She did
not understand why I said no."
    Selene looked appalled. "I'm impressed. Your
ex has more nerve than mine."
    "Linda is a piece of work. I would have done
it for the kids, but they threatened to cut his hair off if I let
them."
    "You learn a lot about yourself when
something like this happens. Ginny was just the symptom of a bigger
problem in my marriage. Guys don't cheat when their happy."
    "Yeah, it took me a while to see that. I did
not handle it well. I think I was a mess for about a year
afterward. If it hadn't been for my folks and my friends; I don't
know what I would have done."
    "I think Darcy and Maggie held me up through
most of it. My parents still live in Grosse Pointe. They don't even
know."
    Axel looked shocked. "Selene, you haven't
told your parents you’re divorced? Why?"
    Selene looked at him with a pained look. "I
did not want to admit my failure. My Dad could not stand Jim. My
Mom has been sick the past year too. I could not lay that on
them."
    He considered her words, eyeing her
speculatively. "I get it. I have a Dad you don't want to disappoint
either. He retired after forty years from GM. He did not like me
not going with Jenny down to Ohio. I did not even tell him I
graduated from college. I knew what he'd say. You don't walk away
from a job at the shop, even if it's walking away from you. I knew
it would be a matter of time before the problem started up in Ohio,
and it has. Jenny is still laid