Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
I had met their father, Christopher—now my ex—back in the early 2000s when I was still a college student. My plan had been to go to Law School and then right all the injustices of the world. I was going to be a women’s rights activist and lawyer and do Pro Bono work for battered and abused women at the women’s shelter…which was probably where I was going to end up by tomorrow night.
Not that my ex had ever beaten or abused me. When we met, he was a young father himself and his wife had just run off to live with her boyfriend, leaving him with two young children to raise and no idea of how to raise them. I had fallen for the kids as much as him—I’d always wanted to be a mom. I even loved babysitting when I was a kid. So it was easy for Amy and Chris Junior to find their way into my heart.
Next thing I knew, Christopher and I were married. At first he assured me that of course I could keep my dreams and go to Law School. But it seemed like one or both of the kids was always getting sick. And Christopher could never stay home with them because his job didn’t allow any kind of parental leave.
Little by little, I let the time slide by. I finished my Pre-Law classes, but I never quite got around to applying for Law School. Then Christopher had a chance at a promotion…but only if he finished his Master’s degree. So we agreed that I would work part time and watch the kids to help him get through.
Of course, after he got his Masters and his promotion, I would be able to go to Law School—that was the promise. But again, it never really happened. The kids were busy with school and extracurricular activities and Christopher was making really good money. He moved us into a bigger house and admitted that he’d always wanted a “traditional wife.”
“Why bother with all the work and worry of going to Law School when I can support us all on my salary?” he asked me. “I mean, come on, Lily—even if you did get a Law Degree, what would you do with it? And who would pick up the kids from school if you were working a nine-to-five job? Who would be their mom? They need you to be at home for them.”
It hurt at first, to give up my dream. But I had been slowly giving it up for years at that point—so maybe it didn’t hurt as much as it should have. I let myself believe that Christopher and the kids needed me at home and I concentrated on being the best mom and wife I could.
I was always the homeroom parent and I never missed a PTA meeting. I had a hot dinner on the table every night and I drove the kids to all their extracurricular activities. If I had a dollar for every soccer game, little league tournament, gymnastics class, and piano recital I attended while Christopher was busy working…well, I wouldn’t be living in my car.
The trouble began when Amy, the youngest, graduated high school and went off to college. Christopher started getting really distant and working even longer hours than usual. He was hardly ever home and when he was home, he barely said two words to me.
I tried to ignore my husband’s neglect, but it hurt. I’d worked so hard for years to make a loving home for him and the kids. Now that we were empty nesters, I’d been hoping for a long-deserved vacation. Maybe a cruise to the Bahamas or even just a trip down to Miami or Key West, where I had always wanted to go.
But instead of surprising me with a vacation or a cruise, my husband surprised me with something completely different—divorce papers.
He didn’t even give them to me himself—he had me served by a solicitor, like I was somebody he was suing. Just some strange man who rang the doorbell and then handed me paperwork that ended my life as I knew it.
I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. I called Christopher over and over but his number went to voice mail again and again. Finally, after five hours of me blowing up his phone, he called me back.
“Listen, Lily—there’s no point in arguing about this so don’t start.” His voice had been clipped and impatient over the phone—as though my demanding to talk about the surprise divorce papers was a huge inconvenience for him.
“But…but I don’t understand—why are you doing this?” My voice was hoarse from crying by then and my eyes were red and raw.
“There’s nothing to understand—we’ve been growing apart for some time now, so we’re getting a divorce.” He said it with such finality, as though I had no say in the matter.