Tiresa’s verbal tirade marches on, while the silence from the other side of the sofa is deafening. To interrupt her was futile—Mika learned this long ago. Better to let her let it out in one blow. Besides, he had his own thoughts to deal with. His ex-wife featured right at the top of the list, although not for the reasons of Tiresa’s rant. It occurs to him that the last time he stood before a minister and a crowd of people, it had been Bella next to him. And he had been happy.
“I suppose things haven’t been that bad with her lately,” Tiresa breaks through his thoughts, “although we hardly speak.” Leaning back on the sofa next to him, she begins to calm down. “That’s the shame of it. I do miss her. I really do, but I just don’t know how to deal with her. She’s changed.â€
“Or maybe we’ve all changed,” Mika adds darkly, hardly realizing he spoke the words aloud until he sees Tiresa’s perfectly arched eyebrows pinch together at the bridge of her nose and her deep brown eyes cloud with confusion.
A blessed silence fills the room as she tries to muddle through what was happening in his head. Finally, she shrugs it off and returns to her own selfish thoughts. “Yes. I suppose we have.” For once, she leaves it at that.