Read What the Dog Ate for Free Online

half of the bathroom cupboard held an assortment of
near-empty toiletries. She pulled photographs off the walls and out of
bookcases.
    In their room, she stopped in front
of the large, abstract painting over the bed: a stylized seascape they’d bought
years ago on a trip to Maine. One of Maggie’s favorite vacation pastimes was
wandering local galleries looking for a special keepsake. This particular piece
had been their biggest splurge. Sometimes they would lie in bed and tilt their
heads up to look at it, especially if one of them had been through a
particularly bad day. They’d snuggle together and remember their “Happy Place”
where they’d taken long walks on the windswept beaches. It hurt to look at it
now. She thought about taking it down. But she thought the giant empty space on
the wall would only make her feel worse; remind her of the gaping hole in her
life.
    She turned away from it and was
confronted by the eight-by-ten from their wedding, hanging on the opposite
wall. She pulled it down and studied it. They were so young. Dave’s jet black
hair hid his ears; her auburn curls cascaded over her shoulders. They were so
happy. When a fat tear splattered on the glass, she dropped the picture into
her collection basket, and then bundled all of it into bags in the garage. She
resisted the temptation to set the lot of it on fire and decided that, for now,
just having it out of the house would have to do.
    Back inside, she went into the
office and turned on the computer. She plugged in her iPod, found “their” song, I Got You Babe , and deleted it. What
a stupid song . But at least it was the UB40 and Chrissie Hynde version;
much cooler than the original by Sonny & Cher. And it had seemed
appropriate at the time. They were young and didn’t know. And they couldn’t pay
the rent. And they did grow. Apart.
    Maggie sighed. Need
to pull myself together. I’ve got shit to do. I’ve gotta cancel the cleaning
service. Need to save money and I’ll have time to do it myself now, anyway. And
I need a lawyer, a real estate agent... a new life. What do I look under in the
Yellow Pages for that ?
    ~~~
    Her last day at BioHealth, Maggie
made it through her goodbye party with only a few tears as she hugged the
members of her team. She tried to be oh-so-professional while shaking William’s
hand. Never know when you might need a reference. Don’t
burn those bridges. Fight those pyro desires ... She gritted her teeth
and thanked him for “everything.”
    She walked out of the building for
the last time carrying the paltry remains of all the time, energy, and life
blood she’d put into the place. It amounted to a wedge of carrot cake wrapped
in foil and a cardboard box of crap: a mug, ceramic coaster, and baseball hat,
all with the BioHealth logo; a framed photo of her staff hamming it up at the
Christmas party; and an assortment of goofy “from all of us” birthday cards
that marked the passing years she’d spent there.
    She sat in her car, unsure what she
was feeling. Regret? Excitement? Relief?
    God, I hope I’m
doing the right thing. This seemed like a great idea when I thought Dave might
come back. But now, I’m going to have all this free time... and no one to spend
it with . She looked back at the building as she started the ignition. No. It’s better this way. That job was sucking the life out of
me. I’m going to make a new life now. Right? She watched the lights of
the office recede in her rearview mirror as she drove away.
    On the way home, Maggie replayed
William’s “greatest hits” of irritating moments, to reassure herself she was
doing the right thing. She snapped out of it when she saw a glowing Safeway
sign and remembered that after seeing Dave at the grocery store she’d left
without getting the last, yet most important, item on her list. She couldn’t
get through the coming weekend without it: ice cream.
    After picking up several pints of
her favorites, an idea struck her. She strode to