A day like any other. I leave my daughters at school, do some shopping and return to my quiet corner. Home. I like silence. It helps me focus. I prepare dinner and when it is almost ready, I sit down in front of my laptop and get to work. A few hours and a coffee break later, I stretch lazily, getting up from my desk and going to pick up the kids. I don't like leaving home. I feel bad around people who smile falsely. Everyone is just looking for an excuse to talk about someone and make fun of them. I get in the car and drive towards school. As usual, there's politics and gossip about famous celebrities on the radio. I turn it off, disgusted. I hope I won't have to wait long for them. I pull into the parking lot and sit in the car, looking at the other parents standing in groups and talking.
If only I were different... Maybe I would be among them too.
I looked down because I saw them looking at me again. Their look says it all.
Weird.
A few minutes later the girls run out to the parking lot and find my car. Pam gets into the car first. My younger daughter. She's 12 years old and has quite a character. She has light brown hair that reaches down to her shoulder blades and blue eyes after her father. Allana, the elder, sits next to me. She is 14 years old and cannot be bossed around. She has slightly longer hair than her sister and the same blue eyes. Apparently my genes were too weak.
"It's finally over. I'm exhausted and I'm starving" Pam could be heard complaining.
"Don't complain. I had to sweat for two hours in PE. In this heat" Allana rolled her eyes, pointing to the weather outside.
"We'll be home soon. I made something nice for dinner and then you can cool down with ice cream" I consoled my grumpy daughters. Their mood immediately improved and they were waiting for their arrival home with smiles on their faces.
We entered the house with relief, hiding from the heat. The end of the school year was approaching and it was getting warmer outside. I heated dinner and served it on the table, watching as it was devoured by the children at the speed of light just so they could get to the ice cream.
"I'm going upstairs. I have a physics test tomorrow" Allana said behind her, reluctantly climbing the stairs.
"Um, me too. Next week will be a real pain. Good thing tomorrow is Friday" Pam got up from the table and started dragging her legs towards her room.
With a slight smile, humming one of the songs, I started cleaning up after dinner. I made myself some coffee to help me concentrate on the rest of the work. I sat down in front of my laptop and focused on work. The girls went downstairs several times to get something to drink and steal some unhealthy snacks before bed. I looked at the late time and closed my laptop. I went to check if the girls were asleep, took a quick shower and climbed into bed, hugging the cool satin sheets.
My husband Adam was supposed to come home from work tomorrow evening. He worked in American forests as a lumberjack, but he had been saving money for a long time to open his own carpentry workshop. His father taught him how to make furniture and it can be said that he was very good at it. He had already purchased all the tools and machines. He saved money just to open the store. Thinking about the next day, I slowly fell asleep.
The next day started like any other. I got up earlier and started preparing breakfast for the children and myself when I heard them arguing upstairs. As always, the biggest problem was the bathroom and who would use it first. When they finally managed to get dressed and ready for school, they went downstairs to eat and we left in a hurry to make it before the bell. I just went to the store to buy a few missing things for today's dinner before I returned home. I tidied up the house a bit and started working on my laptop. Today we were going to have a movie night with Adam so I prepared some snacks and drinks. I brought the girls home from school, we ate dinner together and chose some interesting movies to watch.
I looked at my phone again, wondering why he wasn't back yet. The girls couldn't wait, so we played the first movie and started watching it. Only about halfway through the film did Adam come home. I looked at him with slight annoyance before I went to cook his dinner. The children rushed to him and happily talked about the recent events. When they finally let their father out to eat, he walked into the kitchen with a smile on his face and started eating dinner.
"You've been gone for a while" I started, looking at him carefully.
"You know how it is at work. Sometimes we finish earlier, sometimes later" He replied without even looking at me. Apparently he had something more interesting on his phone that he couldn't take his face off of.
His behavior has changed not a long time ago. When he came back, he couldn't tear himself away from his phone, and although he tried to keep his face serious, I noticed a stupid smirk on his face a few times. Without paying attention to me, he got up from the table and went to sit between the children and they started watching a movie together. While taking his clothes to wash, I smelled a pleasant scent coming from his bag. I sniffed a few times and frowned. It was the scent of another woman. I gritted my teeth and threw the bag on the ground.
"So that's it" I whispered, swallowing the bitterness that had gathered in my throat. I had no idea that something was wrong when he left me, but the fact that he didn't want to hide it anymore... I know I'm not a perfect person and I have many flaws, but we were together for so long... A tear fell down on my cheek. I put his clothes in the washing machine and took a hot bath, trying to calm my nerves.
It was already around midnight when I entered the room and found him lying in bed and writing something eagerly on his phone. I sighed heavily before climbing onto the bed and laying down, turning my back away from him.
"I see you have something incredibly interesting on your phone" I muttered under my breath.
"I'm texting with a friend" He muttered without taking his eyes off the screen.
"Yeah..."
Trying to control my grief and sadness, I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it.
After a bad night's sleep, a new day began. After breakfast, we went shopping and took a walk in the park. I was increasingly irritated by my husband's behavior as he was constantly on the phone.
"Will you finally put it down?" I growled at him.
"Don't be picky. A friend insists that we meet. Do you think I could? For a few hours at most" He finally looked at me but only to get my permission. I looked at the girls walking a little ahead of us and taking more selfies.
"Remember that you promised them a trip to the amusement park" I looked at the ground resignedly. Even if I don't agree, he will do whatever he wants.
"We'll go tomorrow. I understand it's just me, Pam and Allana as always, right?" He asked with visible hope in his voice, which hurt me even more. I wanted to try going with them. At least for a little while. But after his words, I no longer wanted to.
"Yes. Just the three of you"
"Okay"
He started typing something on his phone eagerly. I made a noise of displeasure, but he was too busy to notice. A moment later, he approached his daughters and explained to them that he would return in the evening. He waved goodbye to them and disappeared into the crowd of people. Together with the girls and my bad mood, we returned home. Pam and Allana went to their rooms and I immersed myself in work, trying to forget about my anger. Him coming home before midnight, smelling like another woman, only deepened my despair.
"Will I finally find out who you're writing?" I couldn't stand it any longer and asked directly. He looked surprised but quickly became serious, clearly irritated.
"You'll find out in time" He turned his back to me and went to sleep as if nothing had happened. I left our bedroom and sat in the armchair in the living room. I wrapped my arms around my knees and laid my head on them, sobbing quietly.
In due time... So when? After all, everything is already known... How could he do something like that to me? Why?
I stayed like that until the morning, knowing that I would be home alone anyway. I slept in the chair for a few hours before getting up and making breakfast. Nobody paid any attention to me. They were too busy getting ready to leave. I needed something to do to keep myself from going crazy.
My married life was coming to an end. What's next?
I walked around the house looking for something to do. That afternoon I started receiving photos from Pam and my heart almost jumped out of my chest. The photos included smiling daughters, Adam and... someone else. A beautiful blonde with blue eyes whom my husband hugged around the waist. My eyes immediately filled with tears, which quickly began to flow down my cheeks. My family was having a great time with some unknown woman. Grief was tearing my heart into pieces. I fell to the ground in despair. This wasn't the way I wanted to find out. Lying on the ground and looking at the ceiling, I wanted to disappear. Just disappear. After a long time, I picked myself up from the floor and went to wash my face in the bathroom. Late in the evening I heard the girls enter the house. I recovered a bit and went downstairs to face the worst.