I walked her to the front door before I had to turn and look at Bill. He grinned at me as I sat next to him on the couch. “There’s a reason why she cares about stuff like this. Her husband did her dirty with her best friend. Five years, they were fucking behind her back. She works hard, puts in long hours. They took advantage of that. She found them in their marital bed one evening. She said a part of her died that day. In that one moment, she lost her husband and her best friend. Now she primarily takes cases like this. Absolutely no mercy if that’s what her client wants.”
“Ex-husband is an idiot.”
“She’s been single ever since. Finds it hard to trust people. She’ll hit up bars and looks for someone to spend the night with, but that’s it. She just won’t open herself up to being hurt so badly again.”
He stayed for another beer before he had to go home. After a shower of my own, I walked around the house locking up before heading to say goodnight to my girls. Katie was busy reading a book on her bed, smiling at me when I sat down next to her. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m more worried about you, sweetie. You heard a lot of things tonight.”
“Nothing we didn’t really know.” She sat up and opened her arms for a cuddle. “I love you, Daddy,” she whispered.
“Love you too.”
“And we’re glad we’ll be staying with you. We definitely don’t want to live with her.”
“Both of you are the reason why I endured. I wasn’t going to be a part-time father.” I kissed her forehead. “Get some sleep. School tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Daddy.”
“Goodnight, sweetie.”
Hannah was already underneath her covers. Katie took things in her stride. Hannah had always been the more emotional of the two. She sat up and needed a long cuddle with her father as she cried. “She’s a bitch,” she murmured. I just shushed her, gently rubbing her back. “I hate her.”
“No, you don’t. Part of me regrets you were there.”
“I don’t regret it. We needed to hear the truth, Daddy.” She leaned back and met my eyes. “She never denied it. Never said it wasn’t true.”
I smiled. “She couldn’t. I knew the photos would show her clearly. Her and the man she was with.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy.”
I sighed. “So am I. But she still gave birth to you and your sister. For that, I’ll always thank her.”
Laying her down, I kissed her forehead as well. “Love you, Daddy.”
“Love you, sweetheart.”
Returning to my bedroom, I stood in the doorway, looking at the bed. Though she’d said that they’d never been to our house, I knew I’d have to completely reorganise the room. Definitely needed a new mattress. Hell, I figured moving into the office and changing the bedroom into the office would be a good idea. Sure the girls would like me being a little closer. The next few months would probably be difficult for the three of us.
I did head out for drinks on the Friday night with Tanya. Despite insinuating on the phone, it was platonic to start with. I hadn’t been on a date with another woman since I was sixteen myself, but she was great company. We did share a kiss at the end of the night, with a suggestion that we could meet up at a later time. She wasn’t going to rush me, more than aware my mind was all over the place.
Taking the girls to netball on the Saturday morning, Bill and Melissa kept me up to date as Claire turned up at the house. No sign of her lover, she brought her father and brother along. Claire apparently spent most of her time crying as the men got to work packing away anything I said she could take. Whether she’d told them the whole truth or not didn’t really matter. The paperwork was sign and delivered. All that mattered was the divorce being settled. The sooner, the better.
Returning home that afternoon, I checked to find she’d taken all her clothing and belongings. She’d also left behind three envelopes, one addressed to myself, another each for Katie and Hannah. The latter was ready to just dump it in the bin, but I asked her to at least read it first, then if she wanted to bin it, go for it. The letter for me was the sort of apology I expected from her. No real guilt or taking of blame. I didn’t just skim it. I did sit down to read it. Then I crumpled it up, put it in the sink, and burned it. Katie and Hannah added their letters to the fire.
Suzy arrived at the front door a couple of hours later. We sat outside on the patio with a beer in hand, discussing everything that happened. The one question I had was, “Did anyone actually know? Did she ever slip up and admit it?”
“No. If she had, we’d have told you straight away.” I sighed with relief. At least my friends had my back. “How did you find out anyway?” she wondered.
“Her colleague at work alerted me. Said they were being very friendly and familiar with each other. She offered to keep an eye on them. When she told me about a ‘business trip’, I asked her colleague about it. It was complete bullshit. Immediately told Bill, who said he’d sort it for me.”
“Mark, seriously, how did you tolerate it for three years?”
I took a sip of beer. “Honestly? It was the hate. Anytime I saw her around the house, it just fuelled the desire not to be another statistic, another man fucked over in court, his kids taken from him. I’ve practically raised them by myself since they went to school. Before then, yeah, she did the bare bloody minimum one would expect. She’s always resented them in her own way. Never had a kind word to say about them. I’m there for everything. Have been there ever since she clearly didn’t give a shit.”
“Think it was jealousy?”
“Of her own kids?” I asked, laughing for a moment, “I mean, I guess you could look at it that way. But that just speaks of her own deep seeded insecurities if that’s the case. And still no excuse to have an affair. Never spoke to me about her problems. And by the time I learned of the affair, it was too late. I didn’t care enough to ask her what her problem was.”
I glanced at she took a sip of beer and then grinned. “So… Going to sow some wild oats now, Mark?”
“You offering?”
“Fuck yes. Your soon to be ex-wife is a fucking idiot. You been working out?”
“It helps with the frustration. And I’ll be divorced soon enough. I’m in the process of buying a new bed.” I took a sip of my own beer. “I said nothing will happen before my divorce. When that’s come through, want to spend the night?”
“Break in the new bed?”
“Sure.”
“I’d love to.” She paused. “Just sex, right? You’re not looking…”
“No, Suzy. Calm your tits. We’ll just have some fun.” I took her hand. “How are you doing after Jamie?”
“Eh, could have been worse. He was just a prick. Had no choice but to kick the bastard out. I could see the violence coming.”
“Bill and I would have sorted him out. Mike and Ryan too. Four against one…”
I did have to wait for the court hearing, but once it arrived, I had plenty of support. My brother, sister and parents. My kids came with me. Plenty of my friends for moral support. To my surprise, Claire’s parents greeted me with a handshake, stating how sorry they were. Guess Claire had told them the truth. Cassandra approached and kissed my cheek. “Shame I’m not single, Mark,” she whispered into my ear, “Was always a little jealous she snagged you first.”
I met her eyes and grinned. “Well, now that we’re adults, the three-year gap won’t be a problem, at least. Ever find yourself single, and I am too, give me a call.”
She smiled at me. “Good luck,” she whispered.
It went as smoothly as I could hope. Claire didn’t contest anything that was signed. I got sole custody. The girls took the stand and insisted they only wanted to be with me. When asked about visitation, they admitted they had no interest in continuing the relationship with their mother. That’s when I heard her break down, hearing that her own children, in front of all the family, admitted how much they didn’t want to be their mother. I had a bad feeling that would blow up in my face, but Melissa had that covered too, as the girls had been in therapy since that night I’d exposed their mother for what she was.
The amount of child support was more than I expected, and she had to continue paying for the house until seventy-five percent of the mortgage was paid off. She was looking at another decade, though she could easily afford it. I’d heard through the grapevine that she was now living with her lover in some big house in an affluent suburb to the east.
Walking out of the courtroom, she was brave enough to approach the kids and I. “Do you not wish to see me at all?” she asked.
They stepped behind me without a word, Claire meeting my eyes. In that moment, I almost felt sorry for her. Almost… “Think they made their feelings rather clear in there, Claire. The court may mandate visitation, but they are now old enough to decide whether they want to visit you or not. I won’t force them and you can’t force them either. I could be rather honest to you about your relationship with my children, but I think if you thought about it for even five minutes, you’d realise why they want nothing to do with you any longer. My advice? Run along with your lover and just forget we exist. We’ll be just fine.”
“Our children,” she whispered.
“No, you haven’t provided any sort of guidance or support in nearly ten years except for putting some money into a bank account every couple of weeks. Do you even remember their birthday if I didn’t remind you? Know what year group they’re in at high school? Know how they’re doing at school? Know the names of their friends? Know what they’re interested in, whether it’s activities, music, movies, books…” She lowered her head as I was landing punches with every word. “You gave birth to them, Claire, and as I told them, for that, you will always have my thanks. You made me a father. But other than that…” I sighed. “There’s really no point, Claire. My only suggestion is to give it time and maybe, just maybe, they’ll change their minds.”