Chapter 4
August rolled around, and my company landed the earthwork subcontract for the first phase of the Eastside redevelopment project.
The contract was worth 1.4 million dollars.
After covering all the costs, taxes, Jack's equipment depreciation, and labor, I pocketed over 300 thousand dollars in profit.
Add in the gains from my stock investments, and in just six months, I'd gone from a divorced guy with nothing but 230 thousand dollars to my name.
In just six months, I'd gone from a guy who walked away from his marriage with only 79 thousand dollars, now I was a small-time boss with 5 million dollars sitting in my bank account.
It wasn't a fortune.
But for the loser everyone used to pity half a year ago, it was plenty.
Now, those people who used to pity me could keep their mouths shut.
*****
In early September, my old buddies from the design institute were having a dinner, and Alex dragged me along.
"Mr. Cooper, now that you're a boss, can us working stiffs still hang out with you?" one of them joked.
I laughed. "Seriously, drop the formal address, just call me Michael."
When I got there, I saw there were over a dozen people.
Some were old colleagues from back when I was still working there, and a few were younger folks who'd joined later.
Everyone was in high spirits around the table.
That was, until someone casually said, "Oh, by the way, Michael, I saw your ex-wife at Maple Mall the other day."
The table went quiet for a second.
Everyone turned to look at me.
"Then?" I said, grabbing some food.
He continued, "She was out shopping with some guy, linked arms, just strolling around. He looked like he had money. He drives a Mercedes GLC."
The air at the table got even more awkward after that.
Someone cleared their throat, trying to smooth things over. "Hey, let's not talk about that."
"It's fine," I said, putting down my fork and wiping my mouth. "It's over, we're divorced. She's got her own life now."
Then I raised my glass. "Come on, let's have a drink."
A few people raised their glasses with me.
But I caught a few glances. Some of them were looking at me in a way I'd never seen before.
It wasn't sympathy anymore.
It was something else, hard to pin down like they were quietly judging me, trying to see what I was really about.
They were probably thinking, 'What's up with Michael? Why's he so different now?
''He used to be that soft-spoken nice guy, always avoiding conflict, never stepping on anyone's toes. But after the divorce, it's like he did a total 180. He's a whole new person.'
*****
After the dinner, Alex caught up with me.
He asked, "Michael, does it really not get to you?"
I said, "Why would I be upset?"
"Your ex-wife she's already seeing someone else. Doesn't that mess with your head?"
I looked at Alex.
He was a good guy, just had a big mouth and couldn't keep anything to himself.
I said, "Alex."
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Do you know what a stop-loss is?"
"Uh, like in stocks?"
"Same thing with relationships. If you're losing, you cut your losses and walk away. The longer you drag it out, the more you lose," I said.
Alex paused, scratching his head. "Michael, you really have changed."
I gave him a pat on the shoulder and walked away.
Had I changed? Not really.
The man I'd been in my past life was dead, and the one who took his place was someone new.
*****
October rolled around.
The first thing that made Emily lose her cool happened.
Ethan got into a fight with another kid at school.
The teacher called in the parents.
Emily called me.
At three in the afternoon, my phone rang.
Emily Cooper's name flashed on the screen.
I paused for a moment, then picked up.
"Michael, Ethan got into a fight at school. The teacher wants to see a parent. You need to come over," she said.
Her tone hadn't changed at all, still commanding, as if I were still her husband and still there at her beck and call.
"Tell Richard to go," I said.
"What did you just say?" she snapped.
"I'm asking, whose kid is he? It's all spelled out in the custody agreement clear as day," I replied.
"Michael, Ethan's still your son!" she shouted.
"Emily," I said calmly. "When you signed those papers, remember what you said? 'Don't even think about fighting for custody.' I stayed out of it. So you take care of your kid."
So I hung up.
My phone rang again, and then it rang a second time.
The third time, I hung up on her and blocked her number.
*****
That night, I sat by the window in my apartment, smoking a cigarette.
I wasn't heartless.
Back then, from when Ethan was six all the way to eighteen, I was the one who showed up at every parent-teacher meeting, took care of him whenever he got sick, and picked him up whenever he messed up a test.
I gave him everything I had.
And in the end, he still thought Richard was the better man.
He decided that the man who had shared his mother's bed for eighteen years deserved more sympathy than his own father did.
Fine.
Let him pity Richard, then.
But he can forget about wringing another cent of feeling out of me, not in this life.
I stubbed out my cigarette.
Beyond the window, the city blazed with light, and the new life that belonged to me was only beginning.