Chapter 5 - The Unannounced Visitor
By three o'clock that afternoon, the ice storm had loosened its grip on the city, leaving behind a hard, sparkling crust over the sidewalks.
I was back in my studio, wearing my dust-covered grey apron, wedging a twenty-pound block of dense stoneware clay on the heavy wooden workbench. Clay demands physical focus. Every pocket of trapped air must be forced out through rhythmic, heavy pounding, or the piece will explode when exposed to the heat of the kiln.
The front door bell chimed.
I didn't look up. "Nora, if that's the delivery of glaze chemicals, just tell them to put them by the rear door—"
"It's not Nora."
The voice was tight, breathless, and sharp with suppressed anger.
I stopped my hands on the clay, looking up slowly.
Caleb stood in the center of my studio. His coat was open, revealing the rumpled dress shirt he had worn to our rehearsal dinner two nights ago. His hair was messy, his eyes bloodshot, and his knuckles red from the cold.
Behind him, standing near the glass display cases, was his older sister, Megan.
Megan had been my maid of honor forty-eight hours ago. Now, her face was flushed, her arms crossed tight against her chest, her expression caught between embarrassment and defensive rage.
"You blocked my phone," Caleb said, taking three rapid steps toward my workbench. "I went to Nora’s house. She told me if I didn't leave her porch she’d turn the hose on me in freezing weather. What is wrong with you, Hannah?"
I picked up a wire clay-cutter, wiped my hands on my towel, and stood up straight.
"You were told not to come here, Caleb," I said, my voice maintaining a flat, calm register.
"You left our honeymoon suite!" he yelled, his voice echoing off the high brick walls of the studio. "You left a pathetic note on the table and ran away like a child because I helped a friend in an emergency! Do you have any idea how insane you look right now?"
"Caleb, calm down," Megan muttered, tugging at his arm, though her eyes remained fixed on me with hard judgment. "Hannah, honestly... this is completely out of hand. Caleb came home to an empty room on his wedding night. He was terrified something happened to you!"
I looked at Megan. "Did he tell you where he was between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.?"
"He was helping Elise!" Megan snapped. "Her flight was diverted! She had nowhere to go!"
"She was at the Hewing Hotel," I said softly. "A five-star boutique hotel three blocks from this studio. She posted a photo of them drinking cocktails together while I sat alone in our wedding suite."
Megan blinked. She looked at Caleb. "Cocktails?"
"It wasn't cocktails!" Caleb barked, his face flushing dark red. "It was tea! She was panicking, Megan! I stayed to calm her down! Is compassion a crime now, Hannah? Is that what our marriage is based on? You throwing a life away over a cup of tea?"
"Our marriage ended the moment you decided another woman’s minor inconvenience was worth more than your vow to me," I said.
I picked up my phone from the counter and pressed a single button on the speed-dial.
"Who are you calling?" Caleb demanded, stepping closer. "Stop playing games!"
"I am calling the building security guard, who is currently standing outside the door with two Minneapolis police officers," I said, holding the screen toward him. "You have twenty seconds to leave my private property before you are removed for trespassing."
Caleb froze. The blood drained from his face as he realized I wasn't bluffing.
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"You're unbelievable," he whispered, stepping back as if he didn't recognize the woman standing before him. "You never loved me. If you loved me, you would have fought for this."
"I am fighting for something," I said, setting my hands firmly on the workbench. "I'm fighting for myself. Now get out."
