Long way home

It’s Sunday and Ellen has finally made a decision. A decision that she made on her own, a decision that is sure to raise some brows, and questions.. oh, how is she is supposed to face this? It’s not like she hadn’t thought about this.. but her fear of doing nothing was much greater than pushing forward... facing the raised brows.. and yes, the questions.

Its not like people didn’t know about her husband’s many affairs over the years, but, in the past, she had always stayed... stood by her vows.. raised her children.. and continued on as if all was right with the world. But, this time, she just couldn’t...this time was different.. this time.. she knew that it was time to hold her head high and walk away. This time, she was going to put her stagnant law degree to work. So.. today was step one.. tell the children. Tell them that their father, the man they adore, has been living in the guest house for weeks now. Tell them that he‘s “engaged” to a woman younger than his own daughter. Tell them this engagement happened two months ago, while he was still sharing a bed with their mother. Tell them that this woman is pregnant with their “sibling”. Tell them that divorce is eminent and it’s going to get ugly... VERY ugly. But, most of all, tell them that she was returning to the work force. But not with the “family firm”. No, no more corporate law for her! She wanted to pursue family law. She wanted to represent predominantly women. She wanted to give other women like her a “voice”. She had been working alongside a very competent colleague since she found out about Bill’s latest dalliance. She was determined to take EVERYTHING away from him. She knew she could. She knew that, this time, she wouldnt forgive him. And she was going to make sure he never forgot her. Oh, yes, this was going to get ugly.

As Bill was sitting at the table in guest house reading his newspaper and having a cup of coffee, there’s a knock at door. This was something that had never happened... since moving in to the guest house, he had agreed to keep up certain “appearances“... Abby was never allowed on the property, no one from the company knew of this “living arrangement“ and the children, Robert and Susanna definitely had no idea, so he had no idea who or what was on the other side of that door...he cautiously arose from his seat and went to the door. A very smartly dressed gentleman introduced himself as a “messenger“, smiled and then said, “have a nice day sir” as he handed Bill a large and very thick envelope! Little did he know, his whole world was about to end.. about to come to screeching halt...

From her bedroom window upstairs, Ellen saw it all. After all, it was happening exactly how she planned it. She knew that Bill would attempt to call her any minute... And when he wouldn’t be able to reach her due to her new phone number, he would march out the front door of the guest house toward the main house, probably looking very.. yes, there he was. Looking very much like she expected... MAD! She checked the time, yes, Bill was right “on time“. At that moment, the police, a moving van and the media were all pulling up to the curb and into the drive way. But, Ellen only watched Bill. She watched the confusion replace the anger in his face. She watched him attempt to stop the movers from entering the guest house and removing his belongings...they could ONLY remove his personal belongings, no furniture or anything else deemed to “belomg” to the guest house. She watched as the police stopped Bill in his approach to get closer to the main house. She watched as the officer handed Bill a copy of the legal order to vacate the property, an order he was told was coming, if he had read the legal documents in the envelope still clutched in his hand. She watched as his face changed when he was handed the restraining order to sever all contact with his wife.. this was when he looked up and saw her in the window. His face said it all and in that moment, he knew. Ellen just dropped the curtain and walked away. She wondered if he knew that Abby had also received a similar messag.. a message informing her that she nor her baby would entitled to anything, because EVERYTHING was HERS. Plus, as an added bonus, a copy of the prenup Bill had signed.. a prenup that promised Bill certain ruin if he desecrated his wedding vows. This certain ruin would be a sure thing, that’s why the media had been invited.. to the guest house and to Abby’s apartment.. where she was now being evicted, sober Bill had been ”footing the bills“, there was now a separate lawsuit for every dime Bill had spent on Abby, the apartment, bills, and medical care. she wondered just how long Abby would stand by her man! Bill had just lost everything. Even his own business. Ellen, her money, her family’s business and her law degree... and his signature on the prenup.. he was now officially BROKE. No where to go. But, Ellen had a plane to catch. She had plans to go on a little vacation of sorts.. a vacation that would culminate with a nice dinner with her children. Ellen was no longer anyone’s door mat... her future lay ahead of her... with a new career to boot... after years of not practicing law, she decided to practice family law, rather than the corporate law that had always been the “family business“ and yet somehow, she knew her father was proud! Ellen then picked up the phone, first calling her firstborn, Robert and then her very beautiful newly wed daughter, Susanna. Like their mother, they were also both lawyers, with the firm, her father, their grandfather had first founded nearly 50 years ago. All their plans were set. Ellen picked up her suitcase and walked out the front door, just as the hired car had arrived to pick her up for the airport. In all the circus going on behind her, no one noticed her car pull away... just as none had noticed the “sold” sign in her front yard.