Divine Temptation by Nicki Elson

eyes shut. “But I want to try again. I’m ready for it. I want it.”
    Dead silence screamed between their phones.
    “I know it’s taken me far too long to get here,” she rushed on, “but I’m here now and we love each other, so…” She again paused, needing him to pick up what she’d just dropped.
    “You know I wanted it to work. I fought for us, Maggie.”
    She didn’t miss the past tense, nor did she respond.
    “Look,” he eventually continued, “I just…I think you were right to be so stubborn. I never made you happy.”
    “That’s not true! You did make me happy. You do make me happy. Even now. I know things have been strange, but Sunday night…it all felt so natural. Didn’t you think so? We came together without effort. You made me happy.”
    “Until the end, when I apparently said the wrong thing. Why didn’t you tell me how you were feeling then?”
    Maggie shrugged in answer even though he couldn’t see it and stayed silent. She didn’t want to risk her voice cracking and showing her weakness.
    “It’s always been like this,” Carl said. “We get along for a while, then I do the wrong thing and mess it all up. I can’t read your mind, and I can’t keep up with what you expect from me. I fail every time. It gets demoralizing after a while.”
    Tears broke loose and relieved the pressure that had been building in Maggie’s throat. She was able to speak again. “Then why did you fight for us? Why didn’t you run for the hills at your first opportunity?”
    “Because I love you. And I thought we could work things out, and maybe we could’ve at the time. But since we’ve gone our separate ways, I guess I just see that we’re better apart. And think about the kids. What if we got back together but it didn’t work out? How hard do you think it would be on them to have to go through it all again?”
    “Did Melissa demoralize you?” She hadn’t registered half of what he’d just said, and her voice had taken on a hardness.
    Carl exhaled roughly into the phone. “Melissa and I had a different kind of relationship. Not that I feel obligated to share this with you, but if anything, she was too accommodating, never seemed to get irritated with me enough.” He let out a bitter grunt. “Guess I was so conditioned to think of myself as a failure, that when she didn’t berate me, I thought there must be something wrong with her.”
    “Unbelievable.” Maggie enunciated each syllable separately, her anger building.
    “There it is,” he said, baiting her.
    “You know what? Thank you, Carl. Thank you for reminding me of all the reasons we didn’t work. You’re absolutely right—we’re so much better apart. Because you never ever did anything wrong. Ever. It was just mean old Maggie telling you things were wrong. I just made it up in my crazy, little mind, but really, you were perfect in every way. I should’ve been more like wittle Missy Wissy, apparently. But wait—you ended up breaking her heart and running straight to your ex-wife’s bed, didn’t you? So I guess it doesn’t matter. No matter how a girl acts, Carl Brock will screw her over!”
    “Gee, glad we had this chat,” he said flatly.
    “Me too, actually.” She took a deep breath and reclaimed her sanity. “It really has given me clarity. I’m sorry I was such a bitch throughout our entire marriage.”
    “You weren’t—”
    “Save it. It’s okay. I know; I’m being dramatic. Just…you do get that this means we won’t be sleeping with each other again, right?”
    “Clear as crystal.”
    She rubbed her temple and closed her eyes, feeling a headache coming on for real this time. “Now that we’ve gotten that straightened out, can we please, please, please move forward as if this conversation never took place?”
    “Sure thing.” Most of the stiffness had melted from his voice, and Maggie heard that twinge of concern she so hated. She could tell he was about to ask if she was okay.
    “My head’s