**Saturday, 12th May**
Nina kept insisting. “Emily, honestly, nothing terrible happened! Men do these thingssometimes they get carried away. Be the bigger person. Are you really going to step aside for some girl? Shell think shes won! Fight for your family!”
That Saturday morning, I drove our son, Daniel, to my parents’. Wed agreed hed stay with them for a while.
Back at the house, I pulled out cardboard boxes from the storage and began packing. First, Daniels roomclothes, toys, books, each box sealed with tape and labelled. Soon, only the furniture remained, the things I wouldnt take with me.
Around noon, my phone rang. Nina.
“Hello, Nina.”
“Emily, darling, Jonathan told me everything. I understand youre upset, but dont rush this. Take some time, think it over. Maybe divorce isnt the answer?”
“It wasnt me who broke this family. It was Jonathan,” I replied.
“Im not excusing him! But cant you forgive him just this once?”
“Just this once?” I snapped. “Your son has been seeing his colleague for six months, lying to me. And youre asking me to forgive him? No.”
“Please, Emily, think of Daniel. Youre taking his father away. Jonathan adores him!”
“Jonathan can see Daniel whenever he likes. I wont stop him. But I wont live with your son another day. Now, if youll excuse me, I have packing to do.”
An hour later, Nina turned up at the door, convinced she could talk me out of leaving.
“Emily, really, its not as bad as you think! Men strayit happens. Be wise. Dont let some girl think shes beaten you. Fight for your marriage!”
“Jonathan isnt some trophy to fight over,” I said dryly. “Should I challenge this Jane to a duel? A boxing match? Whats she got to do with it? If it wasnt her, itd be someone else.”
She sighed. “Ill tell you a secretJonathans father had his moments in his youth. But I was wiser. I kept our family together. Thirty-five years now. Were celebrating our coral anniversary soon.”
“And what was this wisdom?” I smirked.
“No scenes. I was kinder, cooked his favourite meals, took interest in his work. I even changed my hair, lost weight, greeted him with a smileeven when I knew where hed been.” She leaned in. “Sometimes I wanted to smack him with a frying pan. But I bit my tongue. And lookwe stayed together. My son had a father, my grandson has a grandfather.”
“Youre an extraordinary woman, Nina. I couldnt do that. My self-respect wont let me. What youre suggestingits like asking me to eat from a bin.”
She flushed, stood abruptly, and left without another word.
I kept packing. I knew this wasnt the endJonathan and Nina would make this harder. Thats why I had to leave quickly.
The next day, my dad helped me load the boxes into a van. On the way, we stopped at Ninas to drop off the keys.
At lunch with Margot the following week, I told her everything.
“And what did she say to convince you?” Margot asked.
“The usual’Youre taking Daniels father away,’ ‘All men cheat,’ ‘Women must be wiser.’ Then she shared how she won her husband back.”
“How?”
“I wont repeat it. But trust me, it was pathetic.”
“Youve filed already?”
“Yes, last Friday.”
“Good riddance to that cad. It was painful watching him parade around.”
“Waityou knew about Jane?” I stared at her.
“Not for certain, but I suspected.”
“Why didnt you tell me?” I stood to leave.
“Stop! ListenI didnt know for sure. I saw what you saw, just read it differently. Remember the office party? How Jane hovered around him? Or how she always volunteered for trips with him? I suspected, but without proofwhat if I was wrong? Remember what happened to Sarah Bell?”
“Sarah told a friend shed seen her husband with another womaneven showed a photo. They patched things up, and Sarah was blamed for ‘trying to break up a happy marriage out of jealousy.’ She left the company. So, noI wasnt risking it. Unless I had ironclad proof.”
I sighed. “Fine. But where do you go from here?”
“The flats in Ninas name, so weve moved in with my parents. My grans old place is being fixed uptenants just left. Its only two bedrooms, but enough for us.”
“Jonathan agreed to divorce?”
“Says he doesnt want one, swears hes changed. But once was enough. He begged me not to file for child supportpromised to pay anyway.”
“And?”
“I refused. I want it official. Then he threatened to take Daniel’My flats better, my salarys higher.'”
I counted his business trips last yeareight. Enough to prove hed never be the primary carer.
When Jonathan petitioned for custody, claiming I couldnt provide for Daniel, I had my answer ready: “Who looks after him when youre away?”
Nina wailed to anyone whod listen that I was “hiding” Daniel. But the truth was simplewe lived in my flat, Daniel went to nursery nearby.
In the end, they lost.
I found a new jobgood specialists always do.
Later, Margot brought news: “Jane quit. Left for London.”
“Why?”
“The office women made her life hell. She realised Jonathan wasnt worth it and left. So now your ex is alone.”
I shrugged. “Not my problem.”
And I meant it.
Some wells are too poisoned to drink from again.
**End of entry.**
