Toe the Line(53)

“The chef out in Cali?”

I nodded. “He’s…apparently getting divorced. I had no idea. He had to tell his daughter tonight. He wants to talk on the phone to give me the details. Archie never wants to talk on the phone, so I know he must be upset. He asked if I had some time to call him.”

“You want some privacy?” Jason asked.

“No. Stay. I just wanted you to know why I need to hop on the phone for a bit.”

Jason grabbed his keys from the coffee table. “I’ll head out. It’s just as well, babe. It’s late, and I told Jay I’d stop by and take a look at his car before tomorrow. It’s giving him some trouble.”

Jason’s kids, Jay and Alexandra, both lived about thirty minutes away in New Jersey, where Jason also had a house. He often jetted back and forth between my apartment in the city and the suburbs.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Go give your friend a call.” Jason wrapped his arms around me and placed a firm kiss on my lips. “I’ll bring you breakfast in the morning.”

After he left, I picked up the phone and dialed Archie, my heart racing more with each second.

His voice sounded strained when he answered on the third ring. “Hey, Noelle.”

“Hi.”

“I didn’t think I’d hear from you so soon. This is a pleasant surprise.”

“Is now a good time?”

“It’s perfect, actually. Clancy’s already in bed, and I’m otherwise alone.”

“That was some email you sent me.”

“I know. I’m sorry for not mentioning anything sooner. I felt like I owed it to my daughter to make sure she was the first to know.”

“I understand.” I nodded. “How did she take it?”

“Well…she cried. And I feel like a monster.”

I lay back on my couch. “What happened, Archie?”

“What happened?” He let out a long exhale into the phone. “That’s a really fucking good question. It probably can be summed up like this…” He paused. “I married someone I wasn’t truly in love with because it felt like the responsible thing to do. By the time I realized I couldn’t make myself fall in love with her just because she’d had my baby, we were already married. I refused to give up, not wanting to fail my daughter, yet all the while failing as a husband and pushing my wife away through lack of affection and intimacy. So while I wasn’t technically the one to end my marriage, I all but forced her into the arms of another man who gave her exactly what she needed. Mariah insisted on a divorce so she could be with said man because I would’ve continued to stick it out for my daughter, while my wife and I remained miserable.”

Jesus. I’d really been out of the loop. I’d never loved Mariah, but my heart broke for her and for Archie. My voice trembled. “I feel like a terrible friend that I didn’t know any of this.”

“Please. I intentionally hid it from you because I was ashamed.”

“I’m so sorry, Archie.”

“As we speak, my wife is at her boyfriend’s house while I stay home with our sleeping kid.”

Oh man. “God…I’m…” I shook my head. “Wow.”

“How the fuck did I get here, Noelle?”

I took a deep breath in and exhaled. “You made the decision you felt was best for your child, and you tried.”

“Did I, though? I couldn’t even fake it after a while. Clearly I didn’t try that hard.”

“Archie, you’re human. We all make mistakes.”

“This was a pretty damn big one.” He sighed. “I’d always known I wasn’t cut out for marriage. I should’ve known better, and now my daughter has to pay for my poor judgment. It might’ve been better if she hadn’t had her parents together from the start.”

“You’re perfectly capable of being a good dad to her, even if you’re not married to her mom. People make it work all the time. In fact, you’ll probably be a better dad without the added pressure of a marriage you weren’t happy in.”

A few seconds passed. “As always, you’re very wise, my friend. Thank you for being here when I need you, even if I haven’t been the greatest friend lately.”

“I’ve been distant, too,” I told him. “I thought I was doing the right thing by giving you space.”

“Space from you is not something I’ve ever wanted,” he said.

His words gave me pause. Before I could overanalyze them, he spoke again.

“You’ve always been the type of friend where things pick up right where they left off, no matter how much time has passed.”

Not exactly. We were never able to pick up from that one moment in time I seemed to be stuck in when it came to Archie.

“Where will you be living?” I asked.

“I’m gonna start looking for a place this week. Clancy will live here with Mariah, and we’ll work out an arrangement amicably so she can stay with me some of the time. That’s the one good thing about this. Mariah and I are on pretty good terms.” He sighed. “I don’t think I’ll be okay for a while, though. Not after seeing my baby cry tonight.”

Pain gripped my heart. “Do you still see a therapist?” I asked.