The Kids

You said, "Let's figure out how we're going to tell people we're getting a divorce. We don't want to go into detail or soon we'd be saying things we'd regret. Let's say we both have decided to end the marriage and we both have our own reasons."

Sure. Why not. There's no elephant in this living room. I'll stick with this party line, and no one will be the wiser. Let's just let people think I'm divorcing a man with pancreatic cancer, like that makes any sense. NOT! "And what about Laura? She won't buy that."

"Yes, she will."

"No, she won't. She already knows there is a problem with you gambling again. She knows too much to believe such a generality."

"Yes she will."

So here's where you and I both know you are dead wrong. This kid is perceptive. She's going to hone in on this in a hot second. And she did.

Why do you want to tell people this bs line about us each having our own reasons? I think it's because you don't want people to know you're gambling. You are an addict. You want me to cover for you again. Hide your dirty little secret. I have had the courage to tell you several times lately that you are an addict. The things that come out of your mouth are pure unadulterated addictspeak. Who do you think you're kidding?

On Sunday afternoon Laura and Kyle arrived. I was mowing the lawn. She went to look for something. What was she doing with the papers on my desk in my bedroom? I never snooped through my mom's stuff when I was her age. She read your bogus spreadsheet and a letter I had just faxed to my attorney. When I came into the bedroom, she was there and started off by apologizing to me for reading my stuff. Whoa! I was a little stunned. But she is angry with you. I haven't seen that look of contained rage on her face in a long time. She was appalled that you would ask for money from me after all you've taken. She was offended by the tone of your letter. She doesn't like the way you've treated me. She said to me, "Mom, you must promise me that whoever you have a relationship with after this must treat you well. You must proooommmiiiiise me. You are a good person, and I love Dad, but Dad isn't a good person, and he hasn't been good to you. You tell whoever you have a relationship with in the future, that if he isn't good to you, your daughter and her boyfriend are coming after him."

I said, "You have to be good to your father. You're all he has left now. He has no family. He has only one friend, and he has just discarded me. He will need you and Kyle to help him. I didn't want it to turn out this way but Daddy made a choice. I won't be in his life anymore and the burden of meeting his needs will fall on you. I'm sorry. "

"So when he spends all the money he gets from you, he'll come and live with me???"

"Maybe. Probably. You'll be all he has."

Kyle said he likes you, just not the way you conduct your business. He said he thinks the only one who could ever get through to you would be Laura. I told him I thought he was right but I would not encourage Laura to confront you and I don't think Kyle would either.

The kids were very helpful. Kyle finished mowing the back lawn and the two of them dug a rosebed for me in front of the house. Laura went to the condo with me and helped me clean it. The carpets look great; Melanie's son has a commercial shampooer and he got all of the horrible spots out of it that the last tenants managed to put in in only three months.

I had to go to work on Tuesday and the kids tried to wait for me but I had a training that lasted until after 7 p.m. They left ten minutes before I got home, which made me sad. But then they came back because the freeway was really jammed up. You stayed out at their house until Wednesday morning. Being here without you was a real relief.