Page 6 of Recipes for Life
Wynn knew that if I spent any extended time in his presence there was a good chance I would take him back. I didn't consider myself a weak woman by any means, but I was a woman who had been desperately in love with my husband. I would end up breaking if he came at me full force for reconciliation. I knew that right now, while my heart lay in ruins at the bottom of my chest, it was salvageable.
It was like it had been shredded into large pieces of ribbon and, given enough hard work, time, and care, it could be stitched and sewed back together—not in the same way, never the same way again, but it could be almost whole. But it wouldn't survive something like this again, and my daughter deserved a mother who had a whole heart of love to give, not a broken one.
"Listen, Odette, I let you sit here and come up with this half-cocked plan that Murphy and his lawyer will shred. You have no money, no place to call your own, and you haven't even started your new job yet. Heck, your idiot husband doesn't even know you passed your boards, and while I'm so proud that you did and you'll be starting your job in a week, you still have no money of your own." She looked at me grimly. "I might not be a lawyer, but I know they'll use that against you, not to mention then Murphy can seem like a good guy and drag this process out while you battle over money and custody. It would be the perfect opening for him."
"She's right. Showing you can provide for your child will be the judge's number one concern."
I hated that she was right, but I was out of options. I had put my faith in the wrong person. Maybe he did this without thinking of me at all because heknewI was completely reliant on him to an extent, and that thought only made my disdain for him grow.
"What's your plan then, Wynn?"
"While you were coming up with yours, I was coming up with mine. I'm barely here one week out of the month, so the cottage is yours. I only ask that you let me use one of the spare rooms when I'm in town. Don't say a damn word about renting or buying this place from me; you never once let me help you or pay for college, even though I begged. I opened an account for you years ago and put what I would have given you in there. I figured if you never used it, eventually it would be a fund for Lux—for college, her wedding, whatever. There's around $75,000 in it, and it's separate from Murphy and only in your name."
I sat staring at her, my jaw on the floor. “Wynn, you can't... You can't do that. That's too much."
"Odette, you and that girl are myfamily.I’m doing this. If it makes you feel better, you can say I'm doing it for Lux."
Still unable to speak because tears were threatening to fall again, Bethany took the reins.
"Do you want anything from him? Alimony, child support?"
"No," Wynn and I answered at the same time.
"Do you want half of his savings or 401Ks?"
"No, I want absolutely nothing other than a divorce," I said, albeit a little shaky.
"Will you return to the family home at any point in time?"
"Not if I don't have to."
This set her off on a long tangent about the paperwork she was going to file and what to get set in place. Even though it was barely seven on a Saturday morning, she assured me she would get the paperwork together to start the legal proceedings by this afternoon, and Murphy would be served, not quite with the divorce paperwork yet, but with something aboutintentpaperwork. The paperwork clearly outlined thatall communication from here on out would go through her or a third party, that I would not be returning, and we would schedule a time for me to pick up my belongings when he was not in the house. It also stated that Lux would be available to him whenever he liked, and his mother or Wynn would be the third party for those handoffs.
I should have felt relieved that everything I needed seemed to be falling into place; I had a place to stay, money in an account, and it seemed I would never have to really see or talk to Murphy without the presence or mediation of others. I was relieved but also profoundly sad; it was the end of my marriage, and the end of the life I had always dreamed of.
Chapter 5
Odette
The next few weeks were some of the hardest I'd ever been through. I thought bouncing around from foster home to foster home was difficult, but this took the cake. If it hadn't been for Lux and Wynn, I'm unsure of where I'd be right now. I looked over at my bedside dresser in my new room, the clock on it reading 4:58 in the morning. I had always been an early riser, but I hadn't been sleeping much at all. Every time I closed my eyes, visions of my husband and his girlfriend played on repeat. I ended up tossing and turning more than sleeping, but it was in the quiet mornings or late nights when I was left alone with my thoughts that nearly toppled me.
Once Bethany got the paperwork going, everything seemed to spiral before it had evened out. My first call had been to Susan, and within seconds she had known something was wrong—which was understandable since she'd been in my life since I was sixteen. She only had sons; Murphy and his older brother Leon. Her husband Benson was always kind to me, even if we didn't have the close relationship Susan and I did, and headoredhis granddaughter. In fact, Murphy's whole family always spoiled her and me rotten.
"Good morning, love!" Susan's cheery voice reached mine, and it only caused my heart to crack a little more, knowing what I was about to lose. "Lux is up and prattling around. We madepancakes, and we are about to head to the farmer's market! Unless, of course, you already have plans or would like to join us? I figured I'd let you and Murphy sleep in a little before checking in." I heard Lux singingvery, veryoff-key in the background and couldn't help but smile—it was the first time I had felt any joy in the last twelve hours.
"Susan... We...we need to talk." My voice broke.
I could hear her take me off speaker and a serious tone overtook the conversation. "What happened? Are you okay? Oh god, is Murphy okay?"
I couldn't stop the tears that flowed freely. A part of me was hoping he had called his mom last night, but why would he? Why would he own up to his mistakes? I internally sneered. He had to be thegolden boy.A bitterness I'd never felt before was already leaking out.
"He's fine...more than fine, I’d bet." I couldn't help the obvious disdain I was now feeling from my words, and since I knew I was no longer on speaker phone, I didn't have the energy to fake it anymore, that would only be for Lux.
Silence greeted me on the other line, so I continued, "My surprise was spoiled by finding your son balls-deep in someone who wasn't me." There was no reason to sugar coat the truth, it was better to just come out with it and take it from there.
"Excuse me?" Susan said in a harsh whisper. "My son didwhat?"
I didn’t have it in me to rehash the details; I barely had enough energy to get through this conversation. Feeling a shoulder that bumped into mine, my tear-rimmed eyes met Wynn’s look of anger mixed with pity. Ihatedhow people would look at me now.Oh,the scorned wife who couldn't keep her husband happy. I heard hetraded her in for a better-looking model.
