Nicole stared at the airport terminal in disbelief.  Tears welled in her eyes as the scene that took place a few minutes before replayed in her mind. 

Out of nowhere he had called her two days ago, asking her to meet him at the airport, terminal 5.   

She hadn’t seen her husband in two months.   

Jack had left early Saturday morning, April 15th.  She remembered that day so clearly.  She had woken up and rolled over, hoping to find him lying beside her, instead she found a note and an empty closet.  He had left, with no address, no phone number and no concern for her.  

That was the day her life had completely turned upside down.  That was the first day of her never-ending flu.  That was the first day she realized she didn’t need to rely on anyone but herself. 

Two months had gone by and she heard nothing from Jack, not even a phone call.  She had finally just decided to give up a few days before his phone call. 

She had gone about her daily routine, throwing up in the morning, feeling fluish all day at work and coming home exhausted to an empty apartment.  That was how her life had been and she had gotten used to it, she was adjusting.   

Then, out of the blue Jack called her, asking her to meet him because he wanted to say goodbye.  She reluctantly said yes, her curiosity getting the better of her.  She HAD to find out why.  Why he had left and why he refused to look back, until now. 

She showed up at the airport, two hours early, walking around and looking in the gift shops, hoping to occupy her feelings of confusion, helplessness and frustration.  It helped very little, but the time passed quickly and she quietly walked down to terminal 5, not really knowing what to expect from the man she called her husband. 

Her heart stopped as she approached terminal 5 and spotted him, holding hands and cuddling with a short, tiny waisted blonde woman.  The two giggled lightly in each other’s arms.  Nicole advanced towards the couple, feeling awkward and cleared her throat quietly. 

Jack turned towards her and smiled, proudly introducing his lady friend, Amber, to her. 

She smiled, acting as if the whole event had no affect on her and stared expressionless at the couple as Jack rambled on about how he had met the new “love of his life.”  Finally, Jack handed her an envelope and kissed her cheek, whispering her a goodbye. 

Nicole watched the couple run onto their plane, hand in hand. 

She had sworn to herself that she wouldn’t cry over Jack, but after what she had just witnessed she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.  She quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand and glanced down at the envelope in her hand.  She opened it and pulled out the papers inside, unfolding them slowly.  She gasped as she read the top line. 

DIVORCE SETTLEMENT 

She quickly scanned over the rest of the papers, noticing Jack had already signed them.  All she had to do was sign them before the date on the top of each sheet and her marriage would be over.  The thing that she had worked so hard for the past six months would be over with one simple signature. 

She could feel her stomach churning and chunks rising in her throat as she stared down at the papers in disbelief.  She raced towards the nearest bathroom and deposited what was left of her lunch into the toilet bowl.  She sat on the floor of the stall in silence for what seemed like an eternity, thinking about how her life had been so happy and simple and then with one fowl swoop Jack, the man whom she thought loved her unconditionally, had turned it upside down and twisted it into what felt like a nightmare with no way out.  And her constant throwing up and flu symptoms weren’t helping either, a constant reminder of the dreaded day she was left alone and un-loved by the man whom she swore adored and committed himself her. 

She stood up and stumbled to the sink, wondering how this constant wave of nausea started.  She rinsed her mouth out with water and ran a wet hand over her face.