I didn’t look back.
I spoke to Tony later that evening, letting him know that, upon seeing her, my mind was made up. I wanted a divorce. I knew I’d have to wait, but I was now going to make sure there was absolutely no reason one couldn’t be granted. No surprise he offered to take on the case as cheaply as possible, suggesting he owed it for being a good friend to his son for decades. I thanked him but assured I would definitely pay at least a little something.
Spending the next couple of days deciding on what to do next, the idea of starting again in the city held absolutely no appeal. I needed out of the city, a fresh start somewhere. Mentioning it to Chris a couple of days later, he nodded in understanding. “Guess that offer from your mum remains, eh?”
“I’ve been thinking about it. Go up there, start the business I always wanted, and just get on with my life. I know my sister spends more time up there than with my father. She’s never really forgiven him for kicking me out when downsizing. Still loves him, but there’s a slight strain. Shit, if I leave, I think she might even follow me up there.”
“That’s quite a change, Mark.”
“I know. I’ll sleep on it a little more.”
“She still blowing up your phone?” Cathy wondered.
I gave her a look. “Yeah, no thanks to you,” I retorted, chuckling away, “It’s why I stay off social media. But I don’t mind you keeping people up to date with what’s going on. Certainly received plenty of messages from people, asking if I needed help or just messages of support and sympathy. Nice to know I have friends.”
“What about the apartment? There are other matters you need to consider,” Chris said, “Financial responsibilities and such.”
“Your father mentioned all that on the phone. I know what I’m legally required to do, but the important thing was leaving the marital home immediately. I will limit our contact as soon as possible. Tony did assure me we’d been married long enough that we wouldn’t be forced into mediation, so that’s something. No doubt I’d be spun bullshit about how it was a one-time mistake, blah fucking blah.”
Cathy put her hand on mine. “She’s not worth getting angry about, but I guess your mind is a whirlwind, right?”
I chuckled bitterly. “Fuck, there’s a part of my brain that wants to forgive her because I still fucking love her. She threw away ten years. I’m walking away too, but she’s the one that fucked up.” I sighed. “Shame we don’t live in a country where I can’t just serve papers and be done with it.”
I gave everything further thought over the next few days. I had a heart to heart with dad about his divorce from mum, explaining how it all went. They’d separated, mum had moved away, then as soon as they could legally do so, they hired lawyers, figured it all out, and divorced more as friends than anything. My father never had anything negative to say about my mother, and vice versa regarding mum about dad. They’d just lost that spark and the love, and figured just moving on separately would be for the best.
“Honestly, Mark, heading north might not be a bad thing. From what your sister has told me, she wants out of the city too. The past couple of boyfriends…”
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