BOOK 6

Wearing jeans and a T-shirt fit for loading boxes she had never unpacked at her parents’ house, Jill looked around the contemporary apartment where she and Carl had once planned to spend their newly married life. Sheets, towels, and other items necessary for starting a home filled the boxes. There was no reason to take them out now.

She was surprised to see that Carl hadn’t moved out very many of his things. She had told him she was turning in the notice, which she had done the day after he’d paid his surprise visit to the ranch. In some ways, Carl was a strangely motivated person, but getting his possessions out of her hair apparently wasn’t something that motivated him greatly.

She tried not to think about how depressing it was to have to look at all of his stuff. One phone message at Carl’s office was all she was leaving to warn him that if he didn’t get over here at a pre-arranged time and move out, everything he had parked in the apartment was going to the charity drop-off.

After