I never thought I’d see her again. 6 weeks after my divorce from Jessica was finalized. I was still a mess. Every morning, I woke up in my empty apartment and remembered all over again that my wife had been cheating on me with her personal trainer for 8 months. 8 months of lies while I worked late hours at the firm, thinking I was building our future.
The betrayal hurt worse than the actual end of the marriage. My buddy Kevin wouldn’t stop calling. He’d leave messages every other day telling me I needed to get out of town, clear my head, stop living like a hermit. I ignored him for weeks until he showed up at my door with a printed reservation confirmation. You’re going to the Pinerest Resort in the mountains, he said, shoving the paper into my hands.
Non-refundable. I already paid. You leave tomorrow. So, I went. Not because I wanted to heal or find myself or any of that stuff people say you’re supposed to do after a divorce. I went because Kevin spent money on it and I didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. The resort was beautiful in that way. Expensive places always are.
Everything looked perfect and planned from the stone walkways to the flower beds that probably cost more to maintain than my monthly rent. I checked into my room, unpacked my bag, and immediately felt stupid for being there. What was I supposed to do? Hike alone? Sit at the spa? Pretend I was someone who took relaxing vacations? On the second morning, I forced myself to go down to the pool area.
It was early, maybe 7 or 8, and hardly anyone was around. I grabbed a lounge chair near the infinity edge where the water seemed to pour right off into the mountain valley below. The view was incredible, all green peaks and morning mist, but I couldn’t really appreciate it. My brain kept replaying the moment I’d found those text messages on Jessica’s phone.
That’s when I noticed her. She was standing at the shallow end of the pool, completely still. Most people at pools are moving around, swimming or adjusting their towels or checking their phones. She wasn’t doing any of that. She just stood there in a dark blue one-piece swimsuit, her auburn hair cut short and neat, looking out at the mountains like she was having a private conversation with them.
There was something about the way she held herself. Confident but not showy. Peaceful but not empty. Like she’d found some kind of answer I didn’t even know the question to yet. I probably stared for too long because eventually she turned her head and caught me looking. Our eyes met across the pool deck. I should have glanced away, pretended I was checking the time or studying the landscape.
Instead, I just sat there like an idiot. She walked toward me. actually walked right over to where I was sitting. Up close, she was even more striking. She had these sharp, intelligent eyes that seemed to see more than most people bothered to look for. There were small lines around her eyes and mouth that suggested she was probably in her mid-40s, but she moved with an easy grace that made age feel irrelevant.
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