The Wedding Wish

combatively, “What do you think, Robert? That I don’t go to the movies? If that isn’t the oldest line in the book, then I don’t know—”
    “She left me, Isabel,” he said, his voice cracking. Fire welled in his eyes, and his jaw trembled. “Ran out on me, don’t you know.”
    She gasped and blinked at him. “What?”
    “Seven years ago, to be exact. We were barely even married. We got married right out of college, and it scarcely lasted six months. Six months was all we had before she put me through seven years of hell.”

    Isabel brought her hands to her head, a million emotions swirling inside her. “I’m not getting any of this,” she whimpered as tears sprang from her eyes. “Except for the part about you being married.”
    “But not for long. At the stroke of midnight, it’s over.” He held her gaze, dark eyes sincere. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. My meeting in New York was with my attorney, Susan. She’s the one who called that night when we were out to dinner.”
    Isabel lifted a hand to wipe back her tears. “I’m listening.”
    He heaved a breath, his shoulders sagging. “Jenny left without so much as a word. I didn’t even see it coming.”
    “Then how—?”
    “She left a note by the coffeepot in the kitchen. Going to Florence to find myself. ”
    “Oh!”
    “Yeah, it wasn’t the nicest birthday gift I’d received.”
    “She did that on your birthday?” Isabel asked, unable to believe the callousness of it.
    “To be honest, I’m not sure she remembered what day it was. I guess all she was thinking about was leaving.”
    Isabel stared at him, her heart softening. Of all the people to do that to, Robert surely hadn’t deserved it. Even if the marriage had been bad or things had started to sour between them, Isabel couldn’t imagine what would drive a woman to do something so cold. No matter how hard it had been hearing Robert’s confession, in her heart Isabel believed that he was speaking the truth. The pain was written in his eyes, just at the mention of what was bound to be an awful memory. “I’m sorry.”
    “The worst part was, because she did things the way she did—leaving the country and all—this left me in a terrible predicament.”
    “How long was she gone?”
    Robert slowly shook his head. “She’s still gone.”
    Another scenario occurred. “How do you know she’s okay? That maybe she didn’t get hurt?”
    “We have mutual friends who’ve seen her around. Sipping cappuccino in a café in Venice… Out to dinner with a gaggle of girlfriends in Rome. Jenny’s apparently having the time of her life as an ex-pat and has absolutely no intention of coming home. I’ve tried contacting her over the years, having my lawyer send official correspondence. She’s ignored all of it.”
    “Well then, how can you…” Isabel swallowed hard, hating to hear herself say it. “Get a divorce?”
    “There’s a seven-year abandonment rule. That is, if you have some way to prove it.”
    “The note by the coffeepot?”
    “In court, that could prove ambiguous. She didn’t precisely say she wasn’t coming back.” He paused a moment for effect. “But in the postcard she did.”
    “Postcard?”
    “Two months after she’d gone, I got a postcard from Pisa. Having the time of my life. Decided to stay. You can keep condo and my cat. ”
    “Cat?” Isabel asked in shock.
    “No worries. Her sister took it.”
    “So this postcard…? It was proof?”
    “Postmarked seven years ago today.”
    The art deco clock in the atrium began to chime.
    “What’s that?”
    “Perelli’s clock,” she said. “The one in there.” Her gaze travelled to the next room, the truth slowly dawning.
    Robert caught his breath. “Isabel, what time is it?”
    “When my folks left, it was after eleven.”
    The clock struck again, then again, and again.
    “How many was that?” he asked.
    “Ten, I think.”

    “I can’t believe it.” Robert felt awash in relief. It was if he’d been drowning for seven long years and someone—at long last—had thrown him a life raft. “Isabel…” he said as the clock chimed eleven.
    “Robert?” she asked, blue eyes wide.
    And then, miracle of miracles, it happened. The clock chimed midnight. It was over.
    He ran his hands through his hair, unable to absorb the moment. After all this time and the endless court battles… False starts and disappointments. At least three times before, Robert had believed himself on