Chapter 1
Calliope POV
“What do you guys want to do with your next week off from school?” I ask my six-year-old twins, Jet and Jamie.
The two of them were overly excited to be able to spend the next week with me and hopefully their father.
“What if we went to the zoo? They’ve got monkeys!” Jet yells out.
“I wanna see Nana and Papa!” Jamie yells back.
These two are my greatest blessings in life. No matter what may be happening during my day they manage to make it fun. I listen as they sing some song they learned in school as I drive us home.
I pulled into our driveway and see Deacon’s car sitting there. It’s weird for him to be home this early. It’s only one in the afternoon, so I’m hoping he’s surprising us with taking some time off. Before I can stop them, both kids have unbuckled and gotten out of the van and are running full force into the house. They have the door open and run inside before I can get to them.
I hear Jamie scream and I run to get to her. That fear that only a mother knows hit me full force. My child was scared, and I had to get to her. I step through the doorway only to find my kids with their backs to the living room and their eyes closed.
I look up and see the reason why. My husband stands there with a pillow in front of him while a woman is covering herself with their discarded clothes. I instantly grab my kids and pull them close. They have their faces buried into my legs.
“Calliope, what are you doing home so early?” Deacon says.
He’s shocked and I can understand why. His wife and children just walked in on him having sex with a woman in our living room. What person wouldn’t be shocked? But he can’t be any more shocked than I am. I’ve just walked into my whole world being torn apart.
My mind whirls to the thoughts of my children and I back out the front door without them ever turning their heads from where they are buried in my legs. I shut the door and then spoke.
“Run back to the van. We’re going to get some ice cream and talk about what we just saw.”
The two of them move quickly. People may think that young children don’t catch on to things, but those people would be terribly wrong. My babies catch everything. Sometimes it’s scary how much they notice.
One quick stop through a drive through later, I spread out a blanket in the park and we are all sitting there. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be doing this. How do you do this? I can’t just say “kids your dad is a piece of shit and cheated on mommy.”.
“What was daddy doing with that lady?” Jet asks. I guess we are doing this. I look at both of their sad faces and wonder if this will be something that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
“Were they having sex?” Jamie asks.
“How do you know that word?” I ask shocked.
“Frankie from school told us about it. He walked in on his mommy and daddy doing it. He says it’s something mommies and daddies do.” Jamie says.
I close my eyes and try to think of how I got into this mess. Deacon had been working a lot, but that was normal for him. We only saw him for a few minutes before bed during the week and a few hours on the weekend. But when he was present everything was great. We still made love several times a week, and he still seemed to be happy with me.
“I want you guys to know that daddy and I love you very much. Please don’t ever doubt that. But yes, daddy was doing something with that lady that only mommies and daddies should do together. I don’t want you two to think about what you saw okay? Just think about how much we both love you.”
Everything in me wants to tell them that their dad is horrible and doesn’t deserve to keep breathing. But how would I be any better than him if I did?
The only reason I didn’t break down and scream, cry, break some bones, was because my kids were there. They are my number one priority and I have to be strong for them. No matter what I may be feeling I need to be strong in front of them and once I’m out of their sight, then I can let loose.
“Does this mean that we should be made with daddy? Cause I’m really mad at daddy,” Jet says, crossing his little arms over his chest.
“Jet, I can’t tell you how you should feel, sweetie. I don’t want to make you feel like you can’t be upset. But I need you to know that this is not either of your fault. Daddy loves you and this had nothing to do with the two of you. Promise me you won’t hate your dad. Give him a chance to talk to you before you decide you want to be mad at him. Remember what we’ve talked about? People make mistakes and they are responsible for their actions. But you are responsible for how you act toward them.”
God, how was I ever supposed to get through this? I’ve always taught my kids to give people a chance to fix their mistakes and make things right. But there was no way in hell I would let Deacon try to fix this. I was done, and that was final. I just have to figure out how I’m going to survive this.
“Let’s go see Granny Ruth.” I say, and the two of them light up.
Ruth was an older lady that I helped when she was recovering from surgery. She and I became fast friends and I know she is someone that I can trust with my kids and help me figure this out.
“What brings you guys here?” Ruth asks as the kids wrap their arms around her.
“Mommy wanted to come see you. Can we go play on the swing set?” Jamie says.
“Of course.”
The kids ran out the back door to the backyard while Ruth and I had a seat in her sunroom. We sat there in silence for a few minutes before she spoke.
“Something’s wrong Calliope. Tell me, honey.”
“We walked in on Deacon having sex with some woman in the living room. My babies saw it.” I say, feeling the tears running down my face. “Ruth, I had to explain to my kids what they saw. Jet is angry and Jamie is masking I think.”
“Oh honey, I’m so sorry. I never would have thought this would happen to the two of you. He always seemed so in love with you.” She says, taking my hand. “What do you want to do? You are more than welcome to come and stay here if you want to leave.”
I thought about her offer. I know I don’t want to stay in that house anymore. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wipe the image of Deacon and that woman together from my mind. How could I possibly be able to be relaxed knowing that my husband who had promised me forever, gave that up for another woman?
“I’m going to go home to my mom and dad’s. The kids are off of school for spring break and I need the time to come up with a plan.” I say.
“Did he say anything?”
“He mentioned we were home early. I cut my phone off so he may have been calling, but I can’t be bothered to talk to him. Those two are my top priority. Would you mind watching them while I go get some of our clothes?”
“Are you sure you want to do that? He’ll probably be there. I’ll give you some money to buy you some new things.” Ruth said.
This was why I loved her so much. She treated me and the kids like we were her own. Being two hours away from my parents was hard, and having Ruth made it easier. I was never close with deacon’s family and they only made me feel more like an outsider.
“I need to get the kids allergy meds and I’m going to tell him where we are. I have to play this smart if I want to be able to keep the kids with me. I don’t know what he’s capable of anymore.”
***
I put my key in the lock and close my eyes. I can do this. Be strong Cal. He doesn’t deserve any time to talk to me. I should be the one calling the shots after what he did. Does he even care about us? If he did, then why would he do something so awful to us?
I let out a breath and grab the door. No matter what happens once I open this door, I know one thing. Deacon Mathis no longer has my love, and he’s going to know that.
