Page 5 of Ring Rust

See him a little more, spend more time with him, redevelop a life that centered the two of them. They’d discussed getting goats to make goat cheese. They’d talked about getting a dog. They’d even thought about spending next summer in Maine, learning how to fish for lobster.

“Of course. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you,” Ryan said. “I already had Marina start looking for a resort down in the Dominican Republic. You’ve wanted to go there, right?”

“Yeah, someday.”

“Well, maybe someday is sooner than you think. I figure we can go soon, before you’re back at work for the school year. When we get home, I’ll dive in.”

As they continued chatting, Jasper felt every spark of hope he’d carried into Ryan’s retirement slowly dim. He’d spent years looking at this moment as the finish line—the day the race finally ended, when Ryan came home for good. But listening to him fill the car with new commitments and plans before they were even out of Boston city limits, Jasper realized they’d been running towards two completely different futures.

Ryan was retired, technically. But that didn’t mean he was coming home.

Chapter Three

“I want a divorce.”

Ryan glanced up from the floor where the orange juice he’d knocked over was pooling next to his sock. He’d been too slow to stop it, distracted by the bacon burning in the oven, the eggs burning on the stove, and the smoke alarm alerting him to all of it. “Sorry, one second. Can you get the smoke alarm?”

A minute later, Ryan turned to face Jasper after tossing the charred pans in the sink. He offered a small smile, noticing Jasper’s nervous fingers raking through their cat Calliope’s fur as she nuzzled into his neck. She never did that with him anymore, but maybe now that he’d be home more, she’d grow to love him again.

“Sorry about that. What were you saying?”

“You can’t put grease down the sink,” Jasper said.

Ryan turned to look at the pan as it dripped down the drain, memories of the many, many times Jasper had reminded him of that flitting through his mind. “Shit. I forgot. Sorry, it was just a lot of chaos.”

Jasper nodded and continued stroking the cat, shifting her in his arms.

“Anyway, now that breakfast is ruined, do you want me to just order something? You want that sweet potato pancake thing you like?”

“I’m not super hungry, actually,” Jasper said.

“Oh,” Ryan said, leaning against the counter. “Well, I am. Do you mind if I order something? I’ll get you that pancake and put it in the fridge.”

“I don’t want it.”

“Oh, okay. Eggs? Sandwich?”

“No.”

Ryan scratched his head as he scrolled through the menu on his phone. “Well, what do you want? That’s kind of it for options, unless you want me to pick another restaurant.”

“No, that’s—no. I don’t want breakfast, Ry.”

“I’m confused. What do you want?”

Jasper sighed. “I want a divorce.”

Ryan tilted his head, sure he’d misheard. The word divorce had no meaning in that context, not coming from Jasper’s lips. Even as he worked through the sentence word by word, the meaning stayed just out of reach.

He laughed once, more confusion than humor. “What?”

Jasper cleared his throat and said very clearly, “I want a divorce.”

There was no emotion in Jasper’s face as he stared straight ahead, eyes locked on something behind Ryan. The door, or maybe the painting they’d hung recently. Hearing it again, this time paired with Jasper’s empty indifference, was like a stiff punch to the chest.

“I think it’s best if we end things. I’ve been waiting until your retirement to bring this up, but?—”

Ryan stood up from the counter he’d been leaning on, grabbing the edge for balance. His hand landed directly onthe remaining spilled juice, the cold liquid shocking his system enough that he finally felt some clarity.