Prologue
When it rains, it pours.
Stephen was never one to quote shitty clichés but since he was no longer a writer for any established papers at that particular moment, it was something he didn’t gave a flying fuck about. Stephen was slowly becoming a true believer in the moment as the world he knew was crashing down around him. He was alone in his house and it had been less than twenty-four hours since he lost his job. No real reason was given, but he knew what lead to his dismissal. He had said something that pissed someone off, someone who no longer wanted him there. Forget the fact that it was the truth but no one likes to hear that anymore, especially when it hurts. Speaking the painful truth, despite what he did for a living, was what resulted in his dismissal. He was confident he would land on his feet, but the next round of hurt came before he even got that chance to recover from the previous. He had lost his job less than twenty-four hours ago and there Stephen was; staring at the emails that crushed what little was left of his world. Rather than comfort him in his time of need, life had decided to kick him while he was down, repeatedly as if he was in the octagon and the referee was to break things up. Stephen had been confused and angry when he lost his job, but staring at the emails on the screen did more than just bruise his ego, they broke his heart.
Like a vase that was dropped on the floor, it smashed into a million pieces and hurt more than anything he had ever felt before. It was like what would have happened at the paper he worked at. A bigger story has come along and it pushed all the stories they had been working on all day off the front and was delegated to page four or five. These emails were sent to Stephen from someone he had never met before. A woman whose husband was cheating on her, and that affair just happened with be with Stephen’s wife of eleven years. The emails she sent him were every letter the two lovebirds had been sending each other behind their backs. Distraught and deeply saddened, Stephen sat there and looked at the letters in awe. The truth hurt and it left him gutted like a newly caught fish.
Within them was certain information that only he and his wife knew about, details that he assumed were secrets that she would never share with anyone. Instead, they ended up being the nuggets of conversation that made their pillow talk more amusing. Stephen truly believed he would have cried if it wasn’t in the state of shock. He truly didn’t know what to do. It was bad enough that he just lost his job, but now he had to deal with another reality that was plunging his world into an even deeper abyss. His wife was not faithful, and their marriage was over.
Stephen wasted no time as he turned off the computer and walked into the kitchen to get his cell phone. He looked at it for a moment, trying to think who he should call first. Should he call his wife who was at work, tell her off right then and there for what she had done? He loved the idea of putting her in that position when she didn’t expect it but he thought better of it. Just because he had been hurt didn’t mean he should lower himself to her level. He needed to talk to someone, but didn’t know who to try first. It was early in the morning and everyone was either on their way or already at work. He was lost and had no idea who he should reach out to first.
While Stephen was thinking about it, the answer came to him moments later when the phone rang at him. He looked down at the phone, and let out a sigh of deep relief. In all the drama he had forgotten about one person. He quickly answered the call.
“Hey Dad,” Stephen said, “What’s up?”
“I’m in town,” The old man replied. “Traffic was better than expected and I made really good time. I’m less than twenty minutes from the hotel.”
In all the confusion of the last twenty-four hours, Stephen had forgotten that his Dad was coming into town that week. He had some business to do there but was looking forward to visiting both his sons in the city.
Stephen took a deep breath. “Dad, I need your help.”
He Dad could tell something was wrong. “Anything, son.”
“I’m moving out.” Stephen answered.
“What happened?” his father asked.
“Something really bad.” Stephen answered. “My marriage is over.”
“What’s going on over there?” the old man asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Stephen honestly replied, “But right now it’s over.”
“How serious is this?” he asked.
“I’m going to start packing right now,” Stephen answered, “I don’t want to be here when she gets home. I would prefer your help, but I’ll call a cab if I need to.”
“I need to check in and drop my stuff off at the hotel.” His father said, “That way they’ll be more room for your stuff. I can be there in an hour.”
“That’s fine, I need time to get my stuff packed.” Stephen acknowledge, as he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Get here as soon as you can.”
“I’ll be there,” His Dad replied. “We’ll talk when I get arrive.”
Stephen disconnected the line and did exactly what he said he was going to do. He went into the basement and grabbed two large suitcases and dragged them up to the bedroom. He opened them both on the bed and started to stuff his clothes along with any other personal items he wanted to take with him. It wasn’t exactly the exit he wanted to make from the house that was his home, his family’s home for the last six years but he seemed to have no choice. He was afraid that if he had confronted his wife that day, he might say or do something that he would later regret. The responsible thing to do was leave. Create some space between them and lick the wounds he had taken over the last few days. Retreat seemed like the best option to him and the thought of hearing anything she might have to say or her potential excuses wasn’t what he wanted to hear right now. She had committed a terrible sin against him, the man she vowed to love above all others. A vow she was clearly incapable of keeping. About an hour or so later there was a knock at the door.
Stephen was in the kitchen trying to look for things to take with him when he heard it. “The door’s open!”
Moments later his father came into the kitchen. He could tell by the look on the old man’s face that he’d been worried about his son. “Are you alright, Stephen?”
“No.” Stephen simply said. “I’m leaving my wife.”
“What happened?” his father asked again.
“She had an affair.” Stephen answered. “She cheated on me!”
It was the first time the words had come from his lips. He head read the emails a few times but this was the first time he had spoken the truth out loud, even to himself. What started going through him the next few seconds was something he expected to feel but was surprised it never came sooner: anger. He was upset she could do such a thing to him, to their life, their family.
Stephen started to cry uncontrollably and his father responded by reaching out and taking his son into his arms with a big hug. What was going on was beyond their control and all he could do was hold onto his son and assure him things would be alright. The old man had no idea if that was true, but he was ready to move mountains to make it so. His boy’s world was falling apart and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The old man stood there and held him tightly as his child cried in his arms, which broke his heart as well.
