The Ex Files

Healthy Boundaries

"What do you mean, you can't go to Canmore for my birthday tomorrow?" Kelly screeched. She stopped chopping the onions on the cutting board and turned around to face Hal, still holding the knife. "I'm already packed!"

Hal was sitting at the breakfast bar, sipping cherry kombucha (one of his few healthy habits) while she prepared his dinner. He did not do any cooking himself, beyond boiling an egg or sticking a frozen meal in the microwave, but he enjoyed watching the magic happen.

Tomorrow was June 21 – the summer solstice. Kelly would be twenty-five years old. She had looked forward to lounging in the hot tub on the deck behind the Westwind Lodge, watching the sun set on the longest day of the year. Maybe, just maybe, if the wine was intoxicating enough and the sex was hot enough, Hal would be inclined to see their relationship in a whole new light. Maybe the first quarter century of her life had been a preparatory warm-up for the most magical year of her life. She was young, healthy and optimistic, and the best was still to come.

Until Hal said he had completely forgotten about their plans when he lined up Some Essential Appointments. A re-run of their previous aborted excursions to Victoria, Los Vegas, and Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. Except that this time he had waited until the night before to tell her that their romantic escape was off.

"I'm so sorry, love. I know this is a big milestone for you. I'll make it up to you. We can book that wildlife cruise to Alaska ..."

"They're going to charge my credit card for the first night if we don't show up," she wailed. "We have to go."

"You can go on your own," he suggested pleasantly, as if it were no big deal. "Take a bus. Eleanor might like to come along for company."

She almost burst out laughing at the thought of sharing the king-sized bed and heart-shaped Jacuzzi with Eleanor. They would probably waste half the night talking about Hal.

"Forget it. The sex just wouldn't be the same."

"Hmmm. Eros is hovering in the air, ready to swoop down. Sweet, delicious dalliance. We can play that game right here, my adorable munchkin. No mountains required. I would give you a little advance taste right now, but you are holding a knife and reek of onions."

She turned her back and chopped faster. She had planned tonight's menu in meticulous detail, but right now, she had no idea what she was supposed to do next. She scanned the recipes on her phone through her tears.

"I will try to be finished by three o'clock tomorrow," Hal said.

She turned hopefully. "That would give us enough of time to get to the lodge before dark." It was not the long, leisurely evening she had hoped for, but it was something.

"Oh, my sweet, you know I'll be too exhausted to drive."

"I'll drive," she said. She had never been behind the wheel of his Bertinelli Audax sedan. The chance to drive a luxury vehicle would almost compensate for her disappointment. It would be relaxing to be the driver for a change, instead of a worried navigator anticipating Hal's next outburst of road rage.

"I just wouldn't be comfortable with that," Hal said soothingly. "You know how territorial I am about vehicles. I can't help it. It's just the way I am."

Kelly put the knife down carefully, turned off the oven and stove elements, and washed her hands. She had already cut herself once this evening, and she did not want to risk losing a finger. She took off her apron and sat down opposite him.

Heathy boundaries, she chanted internally. I must establish healthy boundaries. There has to be a way of respecting his needs without ignoring my own. We just have to talk about this sanely, adult to adult, and find a solution.

"This is very important to me," she said in a calm, level voice. "I will never be twenty-five again. And it is our six-month anniversary."

Healthy boundaries. Healthy boundaries. I can do this. Healthy boundaries.

Hal smiled his surprised-by-joy smile that always turned her heart to mush. "Our six-month anniversary! Of course! What a wonderful occasion!  Tell you what, dearest. I'll bring home a bottle of wine and some roses tomorrow, and you can cook me one of your world-famous steak dinners ..."

She stood up, wishing she still had the knife in hand.

Fuck healthy boundaries. I want to castrate the bastard. That might get his attention long enough to realize what "this is very important to me" actually means.

"Hector Amadeus O'Halloran, you are one useless piece of shit." Her voice crescendoed to a shriek. "I am sorry I ever met you. You can make your own dinner from now on."

"Darling, the neighbours—"

"Fuck the neighbours! I hope they never speak to you again!"

I don't need boundaries, I need cement walls and electric fences!

She remembered to pick up her phone and slip it in her purse before she stalked out the door, slamming it behind her. It wasn't until she was on the sidewalk that she realized that she was still in her sock feet.

No shoes. Just like a damn prostitute. Maybe that's what I am. A stupid hooker who gives everything and never gets paid.

She desperately wanted to run to the bus stop, but she forced herself to do the mature thing. She walked back into the building, down the hall, to the door of unit 107. It was locked. She fumbled for her keys in her purse, unlocked the door, yanked it open and grabbed her shoes.

Hal came running. "Darling, you're back! We have to talk about this, my precious angel. I know you're disappointed, but I'll make it up to you. I love you so much!"

Kelly straightened up to her full height. Five feet, four inches. She wished she had a soapbox to stand on so that she could be eyeball to eyeball with him instead of looking up.

"Do you love me enough to let me drive your car to Canmore tomorrow, and move in with you when we get back?"

His face fell. "You know you're everything to me, my darling, but I'm just not comfortable ..."

"Fuck you," she interrupted, and threw her condo keys in his face.