It began almost seventeen years ago. We’ve been through it all together, and then one day—wham! He wants a divorce, and the creep brought his mother to the house when he told me. Man, how could this be happening? I know he loves me; it’s not a question after this long. What the hell? I just didn’t get it. But it happened, really happened. And it wasn’t pretty. As I look back now, he was telling me why. But it took me a while to get it. I just couldn’t believe he would actually leave me. Can you stand how blind we get after being with one person for so long?
And what was it all about? Money of course. We bought a new house a few years before, from a member of his family. Let this be a warning. Don’t buy anything from family members—never a good idea. Friends tried to warn me, but I just listened to him. It’s a good deal, we are helping my Mom, she can’t take care of the place any longer and she’s going to sell it anyway—the reasons to buy go on and on. Oh I was being so smart about the whole thing ... going through an attorney, making sure names were changed on the deed, doing everything right to protect myself. After all, I’m college educated and consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to dealings with life and money and men.
I spent the next few years decorating and making it my own—changing paint colors from boring beige to golden maize. My husband added a new bedroom “facing the lake” so we could have a nice view (using his mom’s credit card—we’d pay her cash, but put it on her card as she liked the “points” she’d get on her card). We added a new dock, new artwork, furniture, the whole shebangabang. He began speaking about whom we would leave the place to when we died. We both were married before and had children from the other marriages. He began speaking of “legacies.” I remember thinking, what is he talking about, but as in most long-term marriages, just sort of ignored it.
PREVIOUS PAGE
