Almost Easy

Matt’s POV

I had finally found a condo I liked in Long Beach, moving all my stuff from Amy’s wasn’t hard it was figuring out the stuff I would be taking from Liz’s house. Which I wasn’t even going to fight for, I knew parting with it wouldn’t hurt me. I was just locking up the front door to head off to Zack’s house when my cell phone went off.

“Hello?” I asked, confused at the nameless number on the screen.

“Hey, it’s Liz. I got a new phone, I took myself off your account. Uhm I just wanted to give you a heads up I’m going out for work today so the keys under the mat if you want to come get stuff. I trust you now what’s your’s.”

“Uhm, yeah.” I nodded to myself, “Thanks for that. Did you check your mail yet?”

“Excuse me?” She asked, someone was talking in the background, “No I haven’t, why?”

“Merry Christmas I guess, you’ll know when you check it I guess.”

“Well I won’t be back for another week, does it need to be dealt with immediately?” She sounded annoyed and I knew what she was thinking: Divorce papers.

“No no, it can wait. Nothing time sensitive at all, well I mean just check it before December twentieth.” I laughed under my breath hearing Zack in the background of her end, “You’re at Zack’s?”

“Yeah, hold on…” She muffled the phone and yelled something, “Yeah I just dropped something off there for you actually. I’m going to head out though, have a good day Matt.”

With that the line went dead. I stared at the phone for a second before I remembered I was in the middle of walking to my car. I tucked the phone in to my pocket and finished walking to my car, got in, and drove down the street with the music blasting. Left something for me at Zack’s? Well I guess really that was the best way of handing stuff off considering she had no clue what my address was now since I moved, or even where Amy lived for that matter.

I kept my mind busy as I drove down the interstate towards Zack and Jacky’s house, when I pulled in my heart dropped not seeing Liz’s car. I knew she had left but somewhere inside I hoped she’d be here, but then again what would that do?

“Fucking snap out of it, Matt.” I mumbled and pulled in behind Jacky’s car, leaving the keys on the floor of my car in case she had to move it to leave. Not that I would be here long. I walked up the walkway to the door and knocked before opening it, “Zack?” I called.

“Uncle Matt!”

I smiled at the sound of Liddy’s voice as she ran towards the door, for a three year old she was quick on her feet, “Liddy!” I smiled and picked her up, swinging her around.

“Well I’m glad she recognized your voice, it’s been long enough.” Jacky walked out from the kitchen and laughed, drying her hands on a towel, “I’d ask how it’s going but…”

“Yeah, it’s been a while anyways.” I shrugged, “Where’s Zack?”

“Oh, he ran Liz to the airport, he didn’t expect you to come over so early. DIdn’t you just go to bed a few hours ago?” She snickered and gestured for me to follow her in to the kitchen, “I just put on some coffee and there’s banana muffins in the oven, have a seat. Oh, Liz… uhm Liz left this for you.” She eyed a large manila envelope on the counter, my stomach churned.

“Uncle Matt?” Liddy pulled at my leg until I picked her up on to the counter in front of me.

“What’s up princess?” I asked, shifting her to the side so I could pull the folder toward.

“Why you not go with Aunt Liz to baca?” She asked, I looked up at Jacky with a raised eyebrow.

“Vacation.” She mouthed with air quotes, I nodded.

“Oh, uhm. Aunty Liz is going by herself, she’s a grown up. Grown ups can do that.”

“When I’m growned up, I’m gonna lots of alone bacas!” She smiled and wiggled, I grabbed her and set her back on the floor and watched as she ran from the room singing something at the top of her lungs.

“Wow she definitely has Liz’s attention span.” I laughed and picked up the folder, breathing out heavily.

“You don’t have to open it right here, Matt.” Jacky was leaning on the counter facing me, the island counter I was sitting at in between us as she sipped her already made coffee from earlier, “You can wait for Zack if you want… or not.” She laughed under her breath and rolled her eyes as I unpinned the envelope and pulled out the papers.

“She left me divorce papers.” I felt a lump growing in my throat, “Divorce papers.”

“Matt... You can’t tell me you’re surprised.” Jacky stared at me, “Come on, we’ve all been pushing you two on and rooting for you guys through everything but… She’s done, she’s fed up. You should have seen her leaving them. She felt like shit, but even we barely see you. Zack only told her to leave them because he knew you’d be coming by today. No one knows where you live now-“

I held my hand up and nodded, “I get it, I really do. I’m just in shock right now, that’s all. I guess she’ll be more excited about what I mailed her than this.”

“She mentioned something about that when she hung up with you, what the hell did you mail her you freak?” Jacky turned around to take the muffins from the oven, I couldn’t help but momentarily hate the fact Zack got to come home to such a peaceful family.

“Plane tickets.” I shrugged, “I got us tickets to go to Europe to a mountain overlooking the Alps, figured she may as well use them since she wanted to go.”

“Jesus if Zack and I ever divorce give him some pointers.” Jacky laughed and flipped the muffin pan over, dumping them all out on to a towel, “That was insensitive, sorry. Honestly I feel like you two will get over it and go back to being friends. You’ve always been better friends.”

“Yeah better friends until we do something stupid again.” I mumbled, staring at the folder in front of me again, the surreal feeling wearing off and reality setting in that this was happening. This was happening, the girl I’d thought I was in love with since I was ten was finally walking out of my life. When I thought I had finally locked it down, it was all a lie and we weren’t actually meant to be.

“Lideya! Muffins are ready come in here and have one!” Jacky called and Liddy ran back in, clambering her way up on to the bar stool beside me, Jacky smile a little, “Now why don’t you enamor uncle Matt and tell him about your new boyfriend at school.”

“Oh, Billy!” Lideya shouted and looked at me, “He’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh, daddy must love that.” I rolled my eyes as Jacky cut a muffin in half and slathered some butter on it and handed one to each Liddy and I, “So tell me all about this Billy.”