Grace was just about finished with an awful, long day at work, but it was only Tuesday. She received a promotion into the highest divorce lawyer position, at one of largest companies in Stamford, Connecticut.
Just as she was logging off her computer, there was a knock at her door. This was strange; people don't normally knock on the door without paging her first. However, she was already packed up to go home so there wasn't any papers that needed to be kept confidential.
"Come in," Grace said.
A man opened the door slowly. He was holding a bouquet of white Calla Lilly's and deep purple Orchids.
"I have a delivery for Grace. Is that you?" asked the man.
"Uh, yes that's me," Grace responded.
She thanked the man as he set the flowers down on her desk and walked out. Grace stared at them. She was caught so off guard. She had no idea who sent them. These were her favorite kind, so she just assumed Oliver sent them. She started to second guess herself because things haven't been the same between them lately. The spark that once was there was slowly diminishing, and they both felt it. Grace suggested going to marriage counseling, but Oliver didn't think it was necessary and refused to go. The subject of having a child was always an issue too. Grace was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome a month before their wedding, and they were both devastated. However, they planned to save up money to have Grace artificially inseminated. It has been almost five years since they got the news.
Grace looked up from the flowers and realized she zoned out. The smell of the flowers filled the air. Grace started to crack a smile.
I have the best husband ever. He is making an effort to fix our marriage and always knows how to make my day better.
She packed up the rest of her stuff and headed for her car. She left the flowers in her office to remind her of Oliver when she had a rough day. By now, all she wanted was to be home relaxing and drinking a glass of fresh, Cassis wine from Clinton Vineyards. However, she was still eight miles from her house, stuck in thick traffic. She could see the houses getting more elegant and the grass getting greener as she continued to creep forward. Breathtaking landscapes, brick fronts with wrap-around porches, and multiple car garages were filling her view, so she knew she was getting closer to her home in Greenwich, Connecticut.
As she was about to turn right into her neighborhood, she heard her phone vibrate in her deep maroon, Kate Spade purse, but couldn't fathom who it would be because her husband was working. When she came to a stop sign, a street away from her house, she dug through her purse until she found her phone. It read, 1 New Voicemail, with a time stamp of 9:01 a.m.
Why didn't I receive a notification for this earlier? It is 6:03.
She quickly typed in her password and clicked on the voicemail.
"Hi Grace, it's Trinh from Universal Nail Salon. I was just calling to remind you of your appointment tonight at 8 o'clock. Give me a call back if this no longer suits you. Thanks."
Damn it. I just want to sink into my LazyBoy, prop my feet up, and sip my wine as I binge watch Modern Family for the rest of the night.
Grace sighed, as she deleted the voicemail. Grace forgot she made her nail appointment for tonight. She had to work late the rest of the week, to get ready for her first meeting on Friday. She tossed her phone back into her purse, sped down the street and into her driveway. She scooped up her stuff and marched into her house.
As she dropped her stuff on the counter, she glanced at the clock and realized it was only 6:13 p.m. She cracked a little smile because she still had time to relax and watch an episode and a half of her show before she needed to leave for her appointment.
Grace plopped down in her favorite leather LazyBoy, with her wine in one hand, the TV remote in the other, all cuddled up in a cozy, wool blanket with Modern Family on the 50-inch 4k TV. Just as she started the second episode, Grace heard Oliver's BMW door slam shut seconds before he came barging through the door.
"Why are you watching this week's episode of Modern Family without me? You know we had plans to watch it together tonight" asked Oliver bitterly, as he walked into the living room.
Grace leaned forward. "Well, hello to you too Oliver. My day went great, thanks for asking. Yours clearly didn't," Grace snapped back.
"Why do you have to be like this all the time? We had plans to watch that together tonight. Obviously, I'm going to be pissed when I walk in the door and I see you watching it without me."
"Well, sorry, I had a stressful day at work. But those flowers you sent me made my mood a little better until you came in and started yelling at me. Besides…"
"Flowers? I didn't send you flowers."
"What? Who did then? Because they were my favorite kind," Grace said softly.
"I don't know, you tell me," Oliver snapped back.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Shaking his head and not saying anything, Oliver walked back into the kitchen.
"I don't know what your issue is. All I wanted to do was relax and get caught up on Modern Familybefore I left for my nail appointment at 7:30," Grace said.
"Oh, you have a nail appointment tonight now? That's interesting because last night you said you didn'thave anything planned."
"I completely forgot. Trinh left me a voicemail earlier reminding me. I would reschedule it, but I'm working late the rest of the week."
Oliver sarcastically laughed. "Well you better get moving then because it's 7:26 p.m. and traffic is still pretty heavy. Wouldn't want you to be late."
Grace jumped up from her LazyBoy, turned off the TV, grabbed her jacket and ran out the door. She arrived at the nail salon with one minute to spare. When she walked in, Trinh was waiting for her. Grace picked out a deep maroon color and went back to Trinh' station. After Grace's nails dried, she thanked Trinh, gathered her belongings and went to the front desk to pay.
"No, no," the owner said. "Your appointment has already been paid for."
"It has? By who?" Grace asked.
"I'm not sure. Someone came in today and said they wanted to pay for your next nail appointment. It's your lucky day," the owner said.
Grace thanked the owner and walked out to her car with a grin on her face.
That little bugger. He acted like he had no idea I had an appointment today.
By this time, traffic wasn't bad anymore, so it only took her a few minutes to get home. Still shocked and confused, she flung open the kitchen door, ran into the living room, jumped on Oliver and gave him a big hug and kiss.
"Uh, what is this for?" Oliver asked confused.
"You paid for my nail appointment," Grace said with a smile on her face.
"Paid for your nails? What are you talking about?"
"The owner at the salon told me someone came in and paid for my next appointment, so I just assumed it was you…"
Oliver pushed Grace off his lap and sarcastically chuckled to himself. "You're kidding. You think I paid for that? I don't even know where or what the place is called."
Grace's face went blank. "Well that's odd. I don't know who else would have paid for it without telling me."
"Probably the same guy that sent you the flowers," Oliver snapped back, as he got up and went into the kitchen.
Grace just sat there.
Who could be doing this? Maybe Becky from work? She is the only one beside Oliver who knows I have been stressed or that I just got promoted.
Meanwhile, Oliver was out in the kitchen slamming the cabinet doors and mumbling stuff under his breath. After putting left overs into containers for his lunch tomorrow, without saying another word to Grace, he stomped up the marble steps and went to bed.
This is so weird. I don't know who is doing this for me. But, I can't stress about it anymore. Whoever it is will tell me eventually.
Grace sat back in her favorite leather LazyBoy, grabbed the remote, turned the episode ofModern Family back on and cuddled back up in her cozy, wool blanket. Before she knew it, she fell asleep and a notification from her phone woke her up. She checked her phone and it was 3:16 a.m. Grace folded up the wool blanket she was using, turned the TV off and went up to bed.
In the morning, Grace and Oliver both left for work around 7. While they were getting ready, Grace tried to interact with him like everything was fine. She was trying to flirt and be cute, but Oliver wasn't having any of it. He was still slamming things around and went down stairs without saying a word to her or even acknowledging her existence. Grace was concerned. She finally was ready and went downstairs to see if Oliver had already left. It was only 6:42. He didn't tell her he was leaving, nor kissed her goodbye. It was unusual; Grace was even more concerned. She realized things were off and not ideal, but she didn't think she deserved to be treated this way. Their marriage seemed to be diminishing. The spark they once had was gone. However, she needed to stop thinking about it because she still had to eat breakfast, pack her lunch and be out the door in less than 15 minutes.
The traffic wasn't terrible, so Grace clocked in with three minutes to spare. As she turned the corner, she saw her boss sliding something under her door. Her heart dropped.
"Hey, do you need something?" Grace asked politely.
"Oh hey. I just slid a paper under your door. It's a list of your upcoming clients. I want you to pull their files and bring the list and information about them to our meeting on Friday."
"Okay, I will have them ready."
Grace unlocked her office door and was greeted with the beautiful smell of Calla Lilly's and Orchids. Even though she loved the smell, it gave her an uncomfortable feeling and reminded her about the Oliver situation. She picked up the paper and set it down on her desk, along with the rest of the stuff in her hands. Grace got herself organized and went on with her work day, trying to forget about all the strange events that were happening to her. She just couldn't seem to get them off her mind.
It was finally lunch time, so Grace took a break. She was walking to the conference room to get a spoon, that she forgot to pack this morning, and ran into Becky.
"Hey, did you send me flowers or prepay for my nail appointment?" Grace asked.
"What? Someone sent you flowers and paid for your nails? I wish someone did that for me." Becky said.
"Yeah, it was nice but I can't figure out who it was and now Oliver is pissed at me."
"Oh wow. Well it wasn't me. I hope you figure out who it is," Becky said, as she walked out of the conference room.
I really have no idea who it is then.
Grace walked back to her office. After eating lunch, her day dragged for what felt like forever. She couldn't concentrate on the cases she was working on. Grace finally got sick of it. She decided just to call it quits and go home because Oliver was supposed to get home early tonight.
As Grace pulled in, she didn't see Oliver's BMW in the driveway.
I wonder where he is. I thought he would be off by now.
She gathered her stuff and headed towards the kitchen door when she noticed a cardboard box leaning up against the door. She was confused because she didn't order anything, and Oliver usually tells her when he does, so she can keep her eye out for it. Grace picked it up, took it inside and set it on the table, along with the rest of her stuff, when she noticed it said, To: Grace Hutchin.Her heart dropped.
Now what could this be?
She ripped it open to find a small, baby blue box with white ribbon wrapped around it and TIFFANY & Co. written in thin, black letters across the middle of box. Grace froze for a few seconds. She slowly opened the box to see a small, sterling silver Return to Tiffany heart tag. She slammed the box shut quick.
This can't be happening. I have wanted this necklace for the longest time, and Oliver is the only one who has known. There is no way this is from him after the kind of week we've been having. I think whoever is doing these kind gestures has the wrong person. But, I need to hide this before Oliver gets home.
Grace threw the small box into her Kate Spade purse and was grabbing her stuff to take up to her room, when the kitchen door flung open. Oliver didn't say a word until he noticed the empty cardboard box sitting on the table.
"Oh now what did you waste our money on?" Oliver asked.
"Uh, just an empty box. I found it outside," Grace responded in panic. She knew she was in a deeper whole now.
"Interesting. Just an empty box that says, To: Grace Hutchin on it? Nothing inside of it huh?"
Grace felt her face go white. "Well this was in there…"
"What? Who keeps sending you this shit? This is ridiculous and you don't seem to care. It's obvious what you are doing, and if you don't want to be in this marriage anymore, then just say so because having a secret lover send you stuff isn't going to fly!"
Grace stood there in disbelief, with tears streaming down her face. "You really think I'm cheating on you? I go to work and come home to you every night. I have tried to talk to you and you have completely ignored me. I even suggested that we go to marriage counseling and that was a hard no too."
"There is no need for marriage counseling because it isn't going to fix you cheating on me. I want a divorce," Oliver screamed at her, as he walked out the kitchen door, giving her no way to explain herself.
Grace was devastated. She had never seen this coming and was still so confused who was doing all this stuff for her. But there was nothing she could do about it now. She sat at the kitchen table and bawled.
Oliver on the other hand, sat in his car with a devious smile on his face. He usually talked to Bentley, his best man, about once a week because he needed someone to vent to about their marriage problems. He needed to call him and fill him in on what just happened. Oliver drove around, while talking to Bentley.
"Hey man, you'll never guess what just happened," Oliver said to Bentley.
"No way man don't tell me it actually worked," Bentley responded.
"Yes it did. I made her believe it wasn't me every time. I pulled it off dude. I told her I wanted a divorce."
"No way. I can't believe that. Well now that all your hard work paid off, go enjoy yourself and have fun. We can go out Friday night," Bentley responded.
"Thanks man, I will. I'm so glad to be out of that marriage. And yeah, sounds good. I'll text you later about it," Oliver said and he hung up.
He was in disbelief that he actually pulled it off. However, he did, and that's all that mattered. Oliver felt a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders. He couldn't stop smiling. He was finally free.
