Page 9 of Midlife Woes (Ex)

“You really aren’t upset. You know, this whole time, I kept telling myself that you’re putting on a brave front so that the rest of us didn’t worry. I was so scared.”

“Scared about what?”

“I don’t know; that you were bottling it all up and that someday it was going to hit you hard, and you were going to do something stupid.”

I pulled into the already-filling parking lot of the best breakfast place in the county and looked around for a spot. “Well, rest assured, as soon as that idiot judge comes to his senses and frees me from the albatross in my house, I’ll show you just how unbothered I am. If that makes me seem callous, I don’t give a good damn.”

“I did my part; I held up my end of the bargain, but that part of my life is over and done; time for a new chapter.”

“And you’re not going to miss him?”

“Miss what? It’s like this. When I went to get my driver’s license the first time, I failed. I didn’t sit around on my ass whining about it; I practiced harder and tried again. That time, I passed. I fell in love, got married, had children, but it didn’t work out. It took twenty-five years of whatever time I have here, but in the end, it failed. And just like I did when I didn’t pass my driver’s test, I’m going to try again until I get it right. I didn’t have the same driving instructor the second time around because I knew I was doing the best I could, so the problem had to be coming from elsewhere. If I’d been slacking off and the issue was with me, I wouldn’t have changed instructors.”

“I still don’t trust it. There’s no way your heart’s not broken.”

“The heart is a deceitful bitch. It’s also a piece of flesh. Letting it dictate my life is no different from the men and women who let their sexual organs control their decisions. I'd rather rely on this.” I pointed to my head.

“If my heart messes with me on this, I’d drag it out of my chest before I let it talk me into losing my happiness over someone who didn’t care enough not to hurt it.”

“Okay, okay, I had to. Jonathan made me promise to keep a close eye on you.”

“He worries too much.” When I have friends like this, people who validate that I’m not a complete monster as a human being, why would I let one shit stain take my peace away from me?

The others pulled in and found parking before we all met up at the entrance of the quaint little mom-and-pop diner that hadn’t changed a lick since I was a little girl. The smells of bacon and eggs and country-fried potatoes hit me in the face as soon as the door opened, and the sound of the voices of the families already seated inside reminded me of better times.

People called out to us as the hostess led us to our table, which they had hurriedly pushed together to seat all of us. My father-in-law made a big deal about sitting next to me, and Sheila sat on my other side with Savana next to her. I think the lot of them were making sure Kevin didn’t find a place too close.

My mother-in-law, as usual, looked as if she was sucking on dehydrated lemon skin, but since I was no longer beholden to her bitchy ass, I ignored her. She was either mad that her husband was sitting close to me or that no one was kissing her ass the way she liked. Neither of which was of any concern to me.

The server came over and dropped off menus before taking our drink orders, and everyone was in the mood for either mimosas or Bloody Marys. I felt the snake’s eyes on me and pretended he didn’t exist as I perused the menu I knew by heart.

As soon as everyone got settled and the waitress returned with our drinks, my father-in-law turned to me with a serious expression on his face. “Here you go, love.” Dalton passed me an envelope, which made his wife bristle either at the endearment or the fact that she didn’t know what was in that envelope.

I have to admit that before all this, my in-laws had a whole different dynamic. It always seemed to me that Dalton deferred to his wife either to keep the peace or because he’d been with the hag long enough to learn how to choose his battles.

“What’s that?” She eyed the envelope as I picked it up.

“What’s this?” I turned the envelope over in my hand.

“Open it.” I did as he asked, and a key fell into my hand.

“Is this?” My heart started to thump in my chest.

“The key to the summer house, it’s yours.” Both my ex and his mother huffed and protested while I sat there with a lump in my throat.

“I know how much you love that place. It’s been in my family for generations, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“She’s not family.” The harpy screeched.

“Shut up.” He turned to his wife, who looked like someone had doused her in cold water.

“She’s been my daughter for the better part of twenty-five years, and she’s not about to stop now. She gave me four of the best things in my life and was one of the only people in my life who genuinely gave a damn about me.”

He looked at her pointedly, and she looked away sheepishly. “Like I was saying, as long as I live, Jo is part of my family; I’m not going to lose her because the son I raised turned out to be just as coldhearted as his mother. I blame myself, Jo. I thought I could leave the raising of my son to his mother, but I knew that she was cold and disinterested in anything other than my money. I thought at least she’d raise the boy to be human, but some tigers eat their young.”

Kevin started to interject and was cut off with a harsh look and an even sharper tongue. “I’m disappointed in you. And if you think I’m going to leave my family’s hard-earned wealth to an ass who didn’t have the good sense to keep it in his pants because he has no morals or sense of control, you can think again. I already talked to the attorneys and made sure that my daughter and grandkids would be taken care of when I’m gone. I no longer trust your judgment.”

This was all coming hard and fast. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have always known that Dalton had a soft spot for me, but this was totally unexpected. The summer home was nothing short of a mansion on the coast that was about two hundred years old. It’s like one of those old beauties that people pay money to tour in their flip-flops when the weather’s set on hell.

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