That Day in 2011

It was sometime in May of 2011. I can’t quite remember which day it was, but it felt like the longest day of my life. I had woken up next to my husband, kissed him on the cheek, then walked from our bedroom out to the hallway and found myself walking to our daughter’s room.

I proceeded to wake her up for one of her last days of school. She was very unamused that I woke her up at such an “early hour.” She proceeded to try to fall back asleep, until I turned her bedroom lights on. Once again, she was unamused, but it managed to get her out of bed.

Once I knew that she was getting ready for the day, I headed back to my husband and I’s bedroom where I would then get ready. He was already dressed and ready for work, meanwhile, I was still in my pajamas. I quickly threw on some clothes, i.e., black dress pants and a cute blouse and called it a day.

I called out for my daughter yelling, “Christina, you need to eat breakfast, then we need to go to school.”

I could hear her eyerolls from the end of the hallway. Yet, her loud pop music ceased, so it seemed as though she was listening, even if not willingly. I could also hear her turn off her bedroom lights and open her door.

“Good morning, Mom,” she said. I was surprised that she didn’t say this in an annoying manner. I figured that she would be, once again, infuriated that I woke her up before 7:30 a.m., but she seemed awfully refreshed. Almost lively and fully awake for once.

Nevertheless, I told her to “Heat up some Eggo waffles and then we will head to school.” She replied with, “Okay, mom. Sounds good.”

Ten minutes passed, and I finally found myself at the dining room table with Christina and my hot cup of coffee. We chatted for what felt like half an hour. I love our quality time as mother and daughter. The next thing I knew, it was time for us to leave, otherwise we were going to be late for Christina’s first class at 8 a.m.

My husband kissed us both on the cheek as we said goodbye and continued to finish his coffee before leaving for work. Meanwhile, Christina and I headed to her school, nearly five minutes away from home. I drove quickly so that we could arrive on time and even checked in with her about her science project.

“So, what do you plan to do for your science project?” I said.

“I’m not sure yet. Most kids are doing volcanoes, but I would like to do something more creative,” she said.

“You are so my kid. I completely understand. What if you did a project about your favorite kinds of rocks? I know that you love collecting and looking at them. Perhaps there is something there.”

“That’s true. I’ll think about it, Mommy. In the meantime, I love you,” she said climbing out the back seat as we stopped in the carpool lane.

“I love you too, sweetie,” I replied. Then, I was off to work until noon, when I had enough time to go home for lunch.

After a couple of hours of work, I drove home for lunch, as I did not have enough time to pack one for the day. Luckily, my work was only eight minutes away from home, so the commute was excellent. As soon as I pulled into the driveway, I noticed a car that I had never seen before parked next to my husband’s. It was a white Sudan with a bright pink license plate, similar to one that I would probably buy Christina in about seven years. I was utterly confused, as I had never seen this vehicle or license plate before. It certainly wasn’t my sister’s or any of my friends’ cars. But why was my husband’s car still at home?

I grabbed my keys as I was headed to the front door. Something felt wrong, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I opened the door, expecting…I’m not sure what I expected. Did someone break into the house? Did one of my friends who has a spare key get a new car? I wasn’t sure what to make of the car outside.

I walked into the house, looked into the living room and saw no one. I walked through the kitchen, and not a peep was made. I kept walking toward my bedroom where I heard loud music and what sounded like sensual noises. I was utterly confused once again.

I opened the door and tried to peek inside. I could see my husband’s bare butt moving back and forth. My jaw dropped as I saw him making love to another woman with hair as bright as the sun. I tried to compose myself, but I literally gasped. Both of them heard me, and my naked husband came running out to me in the hallway.

I began to cry, as he tried to poorly explain the situation. He told me that she meant nothing, and that I was the one that he loved.

“I don’t understand,” I said.

“She’s just some girl I met at work,” he said.

“I don’t need an explanation. I’m not stupid, I can comprehend all that you have said. What I don’t understand is why you would throw our life away,” I said.

“What do you mean? I’m not,” he replied.

“You just did,” I said. He stands there, naked, baffled by my reaction.

“Can I ask you one question,” I said.

“Sure,” he said.

“Did you even think about Christina and what this would do to her?” I questioned.

--Silence emerged in the hallway--

“I didn’t think so,” I said.

I took a deep breath, left and went to pick up Christina from school. It was before 3 p.m. but I didn’t care, I wanted to be with my daughter. Then, she and I went to her grandmother’s house for a couple of nights and devoured a pint of ice cream.