"Where?"

"How about I pick up some sandwiches and we meet at the aquarium?"

"Are you tripping on something?"

"No, it just seems like a peaceful place to meet. It won't hurt, Savannah."

"Okay. In about an hour."

"Do you want your usual?"

Why did he have to say that? And just because, I decided to change up. "No, I'll have a turkey club on whole wheat with mayo and extra mustard and a splash of balsamic vinegar, chips and an iced tea with lemon."

"Wow. You are moving on. That sounds delicious. I might try it, too. See you in a minute."

I was sitting inside on a long concrete bench, watching four sharks swim back and forth, when Isaac tapped me on the shoulder, almost giving me a fucking heart attack. "Here you go," he said. He looked like his old handsome and sexy self, and part of me was relieved but the other part wished he still had a little bit of a haggard look.

I took the bag and could already smell the bacon and the mustard and vinegar. There were quite a few groups of school-age children being led by their teachers. Isaac and I used to come here a lot and watch the colorful fish in the reef tanks. We had always planned to get one but never did.

"Do you want to move away from the sharks?" he asked.

"I'm not reading anything into sitting here," I said, and actually smiled without looking suspicious.

He sat down next to me, leaving enough space between us for the bags. We placed our sandwiches on top. I took a bite and then waited for him to say something.

"You know we did have some great years, didn't we, Savannah?"

I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes at him. "I know you didn't ask me to meet you here to stroll down memory lane. At least I hope not. But to answer your dumb question: Of course we had some great years, Isaac."

"Okay, this is the deal. Because we've been filing our returns separately since I got the business, there's some things I haven't shared with you."

"Like what?"

"Well, I've had a few tax problems."

"And what does this have to do with me, Isaac?"

He looked intently at the sharks, then down at the concrete floor. It didn't seem to be as dark in here as it used to be. "I owe them a decent amount of money which I'm in the process of trying to pay back and working out a payment plan because the penalties and interest are killing me."

I took a few chips from the bag and offered him some but he shook his head no thanks. As soon as I started chewing, the sound they made seemed like I had made a mistake. I was being rude, so I stopped chewing and let them stay on my tongue until they started to get soft. "I'm listening." And then I swallowed.

"Well, I know since we've both signed the papers we could be divorced-ironically enough-on tax day, and if I were to get the settlement around that time, the IRS would take almost every dime of it without fail."

"So what are you asking me, Isaac?"

He took a deep breath and blew it out. He had yet to touch his sandwich. "I was wondering if you would be willing to postpone the final divorce decree until July first?"

He didn't look at me.

"Okay." What difference did it really make? I wasn't trying to hurry up and get married again, and no one but us would even have to know. Not only that, but some people battle it out in court for years, what's a few more months?

"Are you serious? You'd be willing to do that for me?"

"I would, but I have to tell you, Isaac, you better be glad I was already pre-approved for the second mortgage I have to take out on the house to pay you. I still have time to postpone it. But how much do you . . . oh, never mind. It's none of my business and I don't really want to know."

"Thank you, Savannah." He looked like he was on the verge of leaning over to give me a kiss, and I was about to let him when it hit me what we were doing and I backed away.

"And you're sure you'll be able to resolve all this by July first?"

He nodded and finally reached for his sandwich and took a big bite. Chewed. "I'm actually already working with someone but it takes a minute to set it up. It's looking good. It's so much you have to disclose, and I can't afford to have that kind of money showing up in my account until I get this worked out."

"And is that when you're planning on moving to Vegas?"

"I'm just thinking about relocating. I'm getting a little tired of Phoenix. I've been here all my life and could use a change of scenery."

"Does your girlfriend feel the same way?"

"Can we not talk about any third parties, because it might spoil the tone, and right now I'm feeling nothing but gratitude toward you, Savannah."

"No problem. I don't want to know, anyway."

"You look good," he said out of nowhere, which threw me off guard. He's always been good at that.

"So do you, Isaac."

And then we just sat there and ate. "This is a really good sandwich," he said after he had devoured it and treated himself to too many of my chips. "What time do you need to be back?"

I just looked at him. He knows I'm not on a clock, that no one cares as long as I do my job. I took a sip of my tea and wanted to get up and prepare to say goodbye, until next time, but of course it dawned on me that there might not be a next time. We don't even have to sign the papers together and the same will hold true even with the amended date. Our divorce will just happen on the day we designate. We could be anywhere, doing anything.

"You know what, Savannah? I don't know when we might see each other again or if we'll ever have a chance to talk, but I want you to know that I have absolutely no regrets about being married to you. None."

I was surprised to hear him say this. But I figured if this was his way of coming clean, then we should both do it. "In spite of everything, Isaac, I'm glad you stalked me at church until I went out with you, and I loved you up to the last minute."

"What made you stop?"

"Don't ask me that."

"I would like to know. And I didn't stalk you. I followed you out to the parking lot but that was only because you were staring at me up in the choir."

"You couldn't sing a lick, and I don't know how you ever got in the choir. I stopped loving you because you stopped making me feel important."

"When was that?"

"When did your porn fun get deep?"

"A couple of years ago."

"There you go. You stopped listening to me when I talked."

"Savannah, all you did was talk."

"Okay, I have to agree. But when I do, I try to make sure I have something to say."

"But sometimes it's good to be quiet, too. Everybody doesn't need to know what you think. At least not on an hourly basis."

I reached over and punched him on the shoulder. "You know what I miss about you?"

"I do not."

"These," I said and squeezed his shoulder, and then, "These," I said, and pressed my fingers gently against his lips, and "That," I said, and rubbed the palm of my hand across his hard belly. "I'll stop there."

"No, don't. Please. Keep going."

"Shut up, Isaac."

"Come on, Savannah."

"Okay. So you're the only man that has ever made me come four times."

"You're the only woman I've ever made come four times, but that's because I loved the way you made me feel."

"Okay, let's skip this part. I loved how comforting you could be."

"I loved how you used to watch me when I was building something. Like you were really interested."

"But I was. I didn't know how you did it. I thought you were brilliant."

"Really? You never told me that."

"I did so."

"I beg to differ with you. I would remember that."

"Well, I'm telling you now."

"I miss watching stupid television shows with you and you rubbing your feet across mine during the whole show. I was always glad when it was an hour program. I hate to say it, but I loved watching you jump up and down when you disagreed with something on Sixty Minutes Sixty Minutes or when something you read in the paper or saw on the news really upset you. I liked that you were compassionate and empathetic. Not very many women I've ever met get worked up about social and political stuff." or when something you read in the paper or saw on the news really upset you. I liked that you were compassionate and empathetic. Not very many women I've ever met get worked up about social and political stuff."

"You didn't seem to feel that way about a lot of the stories I did, and it hurt my feelings."

"I'm sorry, Savannah. I wasn't dismissing them or their relevance. I just wanted you to take it a step further."

"Meaning?"

"Offer up some solutions."

"But I don't have the answers."

"You've got opinions, this we all know. You should make them known. That's what'll get people to thinking."

"You might have a point. But maybe not. I respected what you did, even though I didn't go ga-ga over fences and decks. I sure loved ours. The bed in the backyard is still kick-ass."

"I hope you never make love to anybody else on it. But then again, I'll never know, will I?"

We sat there silent for a minute or two. Maybe five.

"You want to know what I don't miss?" I asked.

"I'm afraid to say yes."

"Camping and fishing. It's not as much fun as you think it is, Isaac."

"No comment."

I pushed him this time.

"I'm beginning to wonder if divorce is making you violent, young lady."

"I like the sound of that: young lady."

"You are young, Savannah. Your heart is young and so is your spirit."

"I wish that was true."

"Please. You and those crazy girlfriends of yours won't be senior citizens for years to come. I'm glad you have them in your life, and they should be glad to have you in theirs."

"We are. You always liked them, didn't you?"

"I did. Robin is a hoot. Gloria's just sweet. I don't know how she's managing without Marvin when I'm having a hard time accepting he's gone. I feel for her. I don't know who I'm going to watch games with. I really miss him. I hope you stay close to Bernie, too, Savannah. She's been bitter too long and it seems to have taken its toll on her."

"Well, some people do really rotten things that can make getting over it and moving on a little harder."

"I know. You know what else I want you to know?"

"I'm listening."

"That everything doesn't always have to serve a purpose."

"I know that."

"I don't think you do. If you meet somebody else-and I pray that you do, Savannah, seriously-loosen up and lighten up. Be as silly as you can be sometimes. Waste time. Don't try to fill up every minute with shit you think is important because everything isn't."

"As for you. Take a phobia class so you can get your old ass on a plane and go somewhere you can't get to by car. You are missing out, Isaac. There's a world out there worth seeing and I sure wish we could've seen more of it together."

"I'll consider it."

As the sharks were being fed, we sat there and watched them rush to eat.