The Grace of Leaving

When Shirley found out I had called the cops on her for stealing money, she totally freaked out and tried to slap me.

I caught her wrist before she could. "Give me my money back."

Shirley was so mad, she yanked out 500 bucks from her pocket and threw it at my face.

"That's all there is! Take it or leave it!"

Joshua faked being nice, saying, "Max, why would you call the cops on Shirley for something so small?"

"Be quiet!

"Officer, she took more than 60,000 dollars from me!

"And I'm going to sue my wife, Shirley, for cheating with Joshua!"

The moment I mentioned cheating, Shirley and Joshua went white as ghosts.

Getting caught for that would not get anyone killed, but it could wreck one's career and reputation.

Shirley totally lost it. She scrambled to open her wallet and shoved a bunch of bills at me.

"Take it all! Is it really worth all this trouble over some cash?!"

Joshua got so scared that he quickly backed away from Shirley.

I took the money and counted the cash right in front of the cop.

It was more than 20,000 bucks, and she had been carrying it all around.

The cop looked at me and asked, in a perfunctory manner, "Sir, do you still want to press charges?"

I stuffed the cash into my pocket and shook my head.

Shirley and Joshua let out a huge sigh of relief.

However, I gave them a chilly smile. "I still want a divorce."

Shirley's face turned stormy, and she hissed, saying, "Great, Max! That's exactly what I want, too!"

…

The divorce went through super fast.

However, the moment I got back to the house to pack up my sad little bags, the door busted open.

The factory's security guys came in with dark faces and took me away.

"Max, someone told us you've been stealing scrap metal from the factory. You need to come with us," they said.

The old, chipped cup I was holding crashed to the ground, making a loud, screeching sound.

Shirley stepped out from behind them and whispered in my ear, "If you just do as you're told, I won't leave you. However, if you keep causing problems, I can't let you stay and be a bother to me."

My heart felt like it had turned to ice.

I could not believe that my wife, whom I had spent my whole life with, could be so cruel.

Just because she thought I might get in her way, she was willing to throw me in jail and ruin my life.

I looked at her, strangely calm.

"Do you really want to regret this later, or do you want to ruin everything for both of us?"

She took a step back, all business-like, and gestured to the security people.

"I'm just doing what's right. There's nothing for me to regret."

Joshua came over, too, looking sad and pretending to care.

"Max, Ms. Scott was so kind to take you in, a cousin from the countryside. How could you do something like this to repay her?

"It's just so sad."

The neighbors and coworkers who came to see what was happening started to gather around, whispering and pointing.

"That's right, Ms. Scott is such a good person. Yet, she ended up with someone who didn't appreciate her."

"Stealing from the factory is really bad!"

Some coworkers who were usually friendly with me looked like they wanted to say something. However, under Shirley's icy gaze, they just looked down quietly.

I watched the police getting closer.

Then, I started to laugh.

While everyone was calling me a 'scrap metal thief,' I shouted, "Officer, I have something to report!

"I want to report that the manager of Pioneer Factory, Shirley, is doing illegal things, making secret deals, and messing around!"