Paper littered the small, concrete bunker. Far more paper than Talmin expected. Really, he didn’t even know that Gath owned so much paper. Talmin had just finished his rounds and was returning home to clean up and shower, but since his bunker was down the road from his new partner’s place, he thought he’d pop by and visit.
Gath himself seemed to be in a rather bad mood. Pens had clearly been thrown across the room. Large pens made for his large hands. As Talmin stood in the doorway, looking on, Gath’s disposition did change a little bit. He was at least happy to see Talmin.
“Is something wrong?” Talmin asked cautiously, stepping over sheets of crumpled paper.
“Yes, something is very wrong. Everything I write is weirdly jilted. Mainly this letter of divorce I am trying to write.” With a snarl, Gath screwed up another sheet of paper and threw it across the room. He then turned to Talmin, getting up from the battered desk. “Talmin, what are you doing here?”
“I came here to see you!” Talmin smiled. “I just finished work. I thought I should pop by as you were on the way home. I think I came at a bad time though.”
“No, no, you are fine. I am glad you are here. It makes things… easier and harder…”
“Oh?” There was a small stool next to Gath. Talmin made his way into the room and sat on that. It clearly wasn’t made for a large Rethan to sit on, but Talmin didn’t care, he just wanted to be close to Gath and make him feel better. “What do you mean by that?”
Gath grunted, wiping what looked like a tear from his eye. “I have been married to Retvik for a long time. I thought he was dead and I moved on, because marriage is from connection to parting, life to death. I was heartbroken when I was told he was dead, and you came along and repaired that heart… But… I was… deceived…”
Talmin wrapped an arm around Gath. “I will not be sad if you decide you want to go back to Retvik. If that is what makes you happy.”
“It does not make me happy.”
“Oh. Why?”
Gath sighed, pulling away from Talmin. “I still love Retvik. He still loves me. But that love has been fading. It is hard to love someone when they are always in trouble. If I leave him though, I leave him with nothing.”
“But…” It was clear that Talmin didn’t quite understand. “You… are not leaving him with nothing. You are just having a divorce. Because you want to be happy.”
“I feel like I have cheated on him…” Gath’s reply was incredibly blunt. “He was not gone. I was overcome with emotion and fell in love with you.”
Talmin though just shrugged. “Everyone was told he was dead. You were asked to identify his corpse. And somehow, he is magically alive and no one told you. And, like…” Talmin paused. “May I be honest with you?”
Gath nodded.
“Well… Retvik seemed to… agree that you needed a divorce when we met him…”
Talmin’s words stunned Gath. He wriggled out of Talmin’s hug and scooted his chair away, staring off into the corner of the dark office.
“Uh… sorry Gath…” Talmin muttered. “I did not mean to be… mean…”
“No… it is fine…” Gath tutted. “You are correct. Maybe this is for the best. For everyone involved…”
“Do you, uh, want some assistance?” Talmin asked. “Or do you want me to leave you to it?”
Gath picked up a fresh piece of paper, sighing. “No. I would like some privacy please.”
“Of course…” Talmin smiled weakly as he backed out of the room, unsure how to feel…