The first practical test came when Erica asked to collect her belongings. We arranged a date and a window of time through the attorneys, agreed that personal property would be inventoried, and made sure anything disputed would be set aside rather than fought over in the hallway. I packed the things that were plainly hers in labeled boxes: clothing, shoes, books, artwork she had purchased for her office, cosmetics, business materials, and the kitchen equipment she wanted to take. I was not doing it to prove a point. I simply wanted the process to be orderly enough that neither of us could later claim a box had vanished in anger.
There were sadder moments than I expected. I found the little notebook she had used on our honeymoon, filled with names of restaurants, badly drawn maps, and an entry that said we should learn to make a home where neither of us felt like a visitor. I set it with her personal things and sat on the bedroom floor for several minutes. Then I found the photograph of us beside Ray and Sam at Harborline's first formal anniversary dinner. Erica was leaning against me, her hand over mine, and all four of us looked exhausted and happy. I wrapped the frame carefully because it belonged to a real part of our life, however that life had ended.
On the appointed afternoon, Erica arrived with Damon and Monique. Damon was wearing a fitted polo shirt and the expression of a man who had believed the visit would take twenty minutes. Monique appeared beneath a wide-brimmed hat that was large enough to serve as patio furniture. Peter came as a neutral witness and to handle disputes, while Ray volunteered to help carry boxes because, in his words, someone needed to make sure Damon did not try wellness breathing near the toolbox. I told Ray to behave, and he told me he had already reduced his commentary by half.
I greeted everyone at the door and showed them the inventory list. Erica began checking the boxes, occasionally asking why something had been placed in one rather than another. I answered what I could and referred contested items to Peter. Damon stood near the dining room table reading messages on his phone, while Monique surveyed the house as though preparing an unfavorable review of its emotional atmosphere. The whole event had the uncomfortable stiffness of a real estate showing conducted after the owners stopped speaking to one another.