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 too little too late, but it’s about time I start paying closer attention to what the hell is going on in my family. It’s true that I never expected those two to end up like this; as far as I was concerned, that little lady was the best thing to happen to my boy after the way his mother raised him.
She had a good head on her shoulders, even when they were younger, and was the only person I know who knew how to keep him in line after his mother raised him to think the sun shines out his ass.
Do I want my family broken apart? Of course not, but I refuse to watch on the sidelines while a decent human being is being railroaded. I love my son, but right now, I don’t like him. I think what he did was ignorant, and I want to plant my foot in his ass for hurting that sweet girl.
He was the one who chose to let her go, but that doesn’t mean she’s not part of my family and will always be because she gave me the four biggest blessings of my life, and for that, she’d always have a seat at my table.
I hope, like hell, he doesn’t think that I’m about to accept anyone else he brings in front of me. Had Jolene been the one to step out of the marriage, that would be a different story. But she wasn’t; she did everything a wife should do, so why would I penalize her for what my idiot son did?
I’ve seen divorce and what it can do, and one of the things I never understood is how families stick beside the wrongdoer in the name of blood. No, sir, not over here. These bible-thumping assholes seem to forget that there was a time when the parents were asked to throw the first stone at the evil ass kid.
Now, we have forgiveness, sure, but where does it say you have to forget? My wife is madder than hell because I refuse to turn my back on my daughter because her son is an ass. It won’t happen; Jolene was as much a part of this family as Kevin for more than a quarter of a century, she did no wrong, but I’m still supposed to cut her out of my life and treat her like shit because she did her job well. That makes sense.
KEVIN
“What changed? I thought you were going to give me some time, judge?”
“Yeah, well, someone has been sniffing around this case, and if there’s an investigation, it could mean both our asses. Take the loss, son; there’s nothing more you can do.” He just hung up the phone and hung me out to dry.
Is my life really over? Is this the end of us? Why do I feel like it’s just another day? The sky outside looks the same, the air coming through the air conditioner vent sounds the same, and even the voices of the hospital staff as they filter down the hall seem like any other day.
I couldn’t move and almost couldn’t feel my legs before they started shaking. What the hell have I done? What have I really done? Did I really think I could get away with it? That I could fuck around and just go back to things the way they were?
Yeah, because I didn’t expect my wife to find out. There was no reason for her to. Not unless someone intentionally did that shit, and from the way Anne has been acting lately, I’m kinda leaning toward her being the culprit.
Because of some things I’d only just overheard, right before he called while standing outside the hospital room door, I’m almost certain she did it, that the two of them, she and her mother, had purposely let slip that I was sleeping with her, and I now know that it was to get back at my wife for some perceived slight.
I stood out there, trying to hear more, but they lowered their voices. Then my phone vibrated, and when I saw who it was, I walked away to take the call. Now I’m standing here feeling numb with none of the joy and excitement I’d felt before this hell became my life.
I don’t even love this girl. We have nothing in common; how can we when she’s just barely out of high school while I’ve been raising a family and have kids who are all older than she is?
Did I really think I could relive my high school days? Was that it? Did I expect to go back to one of the happiest times of my life and relive it all again? If so, I’d missed a step because the person beside me who had made that time as glorious as it was was the person I was about to lose.