Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
It's amazing how much of yourself you can give up in twenty-something years to please someone else. There were things I’d wanted to do or try that Kevin wasn’t on board with, and as the loving, caring wife and mother I’d been, I’d put myself on the back burner and gone along with his dictates. Now, I’m revisiting every last one of those things and trying to decide which one will be first on my list of things to do.
I have to say, Kevin couldn’t have chosen a better time to show his ass. My kids are grown and out of the house, probably never to return except for holidays and the odd weekend since I expect that they’d want to move on and have their own lives after college is done.
Not that I plan on closing my doors to them; this will always be their home. But they’re grown enough, and I raised them well enough that they should be fine on their own. Don’t think that I’m cold-hearted or heartless, which is what Kevin had claimed this morning before he left.
Yes, every morning now, there’s something else going on with him. It started ever since I moved out of the bedroom and stopped even looking in his direction. The more he rants and raves, the firmer I become in my conviction not to acknowledge him, but he doesn’t know that, so it’s a daily show.
Then, he’d return in the evenings for round two. Speaking of which, there’s no reason I need to be here for that. What the hell have I been thinking? There’s no reason for me to stay home at all if I don’t want to. I could hop in my car and go wherever the wind takes me if I so wish, so why am I hanging around the house all day like a bird with clipped wings?
It's amazing how the mind works. It puts everything in place bit by bit, each little thing in its own compartment before moving on to the next. All you have to do is stay still and let the mind do its thing without any interference from you, and it’ll all fall into place.
Now, where can I go and have a quiet evening all to myself? I wouldn’t be calling Sheila because Jonathan was back from his business trip, and it would be selfish of me to interfere. Besides, maybe it’s time I started keeping my own company sometimes; it’s something I’ll have to get used to.
The idea of getting dressed and going out was both daunting and exhilarating. This would be the first time ever in my life that I was doing this. There was always someone else with me, no matter where I was going. If not Kevin, then one of the kids.
As I went upstairs to my closet, it felt strange, and I think that is when it really hit me that I was no longer a married woman. I no longer had to think of anyone else other than myself.
I’m not gonna lie; I felt a little pang, but that was more for my kids than myself. Even though they’re grown, no one wants a broken home. But beneath all that, I was genuinely beginning to feel a spark of excitement for what was to come, and I felt very proud of myself.
KEVIN
Nothing about this is turning out the way I expected. Look, I’m not the first man to grow tired of what he had at home and look elsewhere for some quick relief. Other men’s wives had forgiven them and moved on, especially when there were kids involved. Some women knew to look the other way and keep their mouths shut.
I could’ve gone that route and was more than ready to stay married to Jolene while having a bit of fun on the side, but Anne had wanted more. I know what people would say, that I’m a fool for taking up with someone half my age, but they have no idea what they’re talking about.
Things with Jolene had changed a lot in the last few years. She’d gone from being my wife to the mother of our kids as she tried to get them ready for the real world. I didn’t resent that, but I felt neglected. Like the life I’d signed up for had been sidelined without me being warned that it was going to happen.
It had been a while since we’d done the things we used to do when we were kids, when we first fell in love, and I missed that. Okay, Jolene never turned me down for anything, and she was always there by my side, cheering me on in whatever endeavor I wanted.
She’s an exceptional mother, too, I can say that. But there was something missing when it came to us. Something I hadn’t noticed until I hired Anne, and things got close between us. It didn’t start out as an affair, just two people talking and making time with each other at the office.