«Listen, Vicky, nothing truly awful happened, love! Men do this sometimesthey get carried away, cant stop themselves in time. Be the bigger person. Are you really going to just hand your husband over to some girl? Shell think shes won! Fight for your family!» her mother-in-law pleaded.
That Saturday morning, Vicky dropped her son off at her parents house. Shed arranged for him to stay with them for a while.
Back home, she pulled out cardboard boxes from the balcony and started packing. The nursery first.
She folded clothes, packed toys and books, sealed the boxes with tape, and labeled them. Soon, the room held only furniturethings she wasnt taking.
Around noon, her phone rang. Mother-in-law.
«Hello, Margaret.»
«Good afternoon, Vicky. James told me everything. I know youre upset, but maybe dont rush this? Take some time, cool off, think it over. Is it really worth tearing the family apart?»
«Im not the one tearing it apartJames is,» Vicky replied.
«Vicky, Im not excusing him! But maybe forgive him just this once?»
«What do you mean, just this once? Your sons been seeing his coworker for six months, lying to me. And you say forgive him? No.»
«Vicky, please, think again. Youre taking Tommy away from his father. James adores him!»
«Margaret, James can still see Tommy. I wont stop him. But I wont live with your son anymore. Lets leave it at thatIm packing, I dont have time.»
She packed the last two boxes, then moved to the bedroom to fill her suitcases.
Margaret showed up an hour later. She mustve thought a face-to-face chat would change Vickys mind.
The conversation went in circles:
«Vicky, honestly, nothing terrible happened! Men slip up sometimesthey lose control.»
«Be wiser. Are you really going to let some girl steal your husband? Shell think shes beaten you! Fight for your family!»
«Margaret, James isnt a trophy to fight over. Should I challenge this Jane to a duel? A boxing match? Whats she got to do with it? If it wasnt her, itd be Ellie or Christine.»
«You know, Ill tell you a secretJamess father, Michael, did the same when he was young. But I was wiser than you, and I saved our marriage. Look at us nowthirty-five years together, celebrating our anniversary soon.»
«And what was this wisdom of yours?» Vicky smirked.
«I never made a scene. Instead, I became more affectionate, cooked his favorite meals, took interest in his life, worked on myselfchanged my hair, lost weight, greeted him with a smile. Sometimes I knew hed just come from her, and I wanted to throw his shoes at himor whack him with a frying pan. But I bit my tongue and smiled. And lookI kept him. My son grew up with his dad, and now my grandson has a grandfather.»
«Youre an extraordinary woman, Margaret. I couldnt do that. I have this pesky thing called self-respect. What youre suggesting is like eating from a bin.»
Margaret flared up, stood abruptly, and stormed out without a word.
Vicky kept packing. She knew this wasnt the endJames and Margaret would hassle her more. Thats why she was hurrying to leave.
The next day, her dad came to help load the boxes into his van. On the way, she asked him to stop at Margarets to return the flat keys.
«Can you believe it?» Vicky told her friend, Emily, the next day. «Yesterday, Margaret spent an hour begging me to forgive Jamess little slip and not file for divorce.»
«What did she say?»
«The usualyoure taking Tommys dad away, all men cheat, women should be wiser. Then she shared how she won her husband back.»
«How?»
«I wont repeat it, but trust me, its bonkers. You wouldnt do it.»
«Did you file?»
«Yeah, last Friday.»
«Finally, youre free of that Casanova. It was painful watching that two-timing git.»
«Painful? You knew about Jane?»
«Not for sure, but I suspected,» Emily admitted guiltily.
«And you didnt tell me? I thought we were friends.»
«Waithear me out. First, I didnt know anything definite. I just saw the same things you did and drew different conclusions. Remember that office party? Jane was all over James. And how many times did she suddenly need to travel with him? You work in HRdidnt you find it odd how she always ended up replacing whoever was supposed to go? I suspected, but I didnt say anything because I wasnt sure.»
«You couldve hinted.»
«And if I was wrong? Youd think I was trying to break you up. Remember Sarah? She told a friend she saw her husband with another womaneven showed a photo. The couple made up, and Sarah got blamed for trying to ruin their marriage out of jealousy. She quit the company after that. So dont be mad. If Id had proof, Id have told you. Where will you live now?»
«The flats in Margarets name, so weve moved in with my parents. But my nans old place will be ready soontenants just left. Its small, but enough for me and Tommy. Sorting nursery nextthe old ones too far, but Mums friend might help get him into the one near us. Then divorce, child support. All sorted.»
«James agreed?»
«Says he doesnt want a divorce, that hes learned his lesson. But once was enough. He begged me not to file for supportsaid hed pay voluntarily.»
«And?»
«No. I dont want to deal with him. Let it be official. He threatened to take Tommymy flats better, my salarys higher. I didnt argue, just counted his business trips last year. Eight. Saved that for court. If he tries for custody, Ill ask wholl look after Tommy when hes away. Ive got a job, a homehe wont win.»
James did file for custody, claiming Vicky couldnt provide for Tommy. Margaret accused her of hiding the child:
«She took him from nursery! We thought they were at her parents, but they vanished after a week. Wheres she keeping him? He should be in nursery, not some shady place!»
Vicky had to explain: they lived in her two-bed flat, Tommy attended the local nursery, and Jamess frequent trips made him an unfit full-time parent.
It didnt work out for James or Margaret.
Vicky found a new job to avoid seeing Jamesshe was good at what she did, so it wasnt hard.
Soon, Emily brought news:
«Jane quit. Shes gone.»
«What?»
«The office women made her life hell. She stuck around a month, realized the game was up, and bolted for London. So your ex is alone now.»
«Doesnt bother me,» Vicky said.
And she meant it. Some wells are too filthy to drink from twice.
What would you have done? Was she right? Share your thoughts.
