LISA
Kendal is in for a rude awakening once she's served divorce papers. Afterward, it will expose her to the person who she truly is. She didn't marry me for love; she married me for the money, and for something I've been trying to figure out for three years now.
The truth will come out. It always does.
While packing all I could into my suitcases, Kendal threw everything in her reach at me. Including the lamps of our nightstands. All while yelling and screaming every possible lousy name in the book and telling me how much of a loser and no good for nothing rotten wife I have been since we married.
I think she has forgotten it goes both ways for a relationship to work. And ours never started after marrying. She also seems to have forgotten; I was the one who forked out the money for her to open her own health and wellness clinic. She wanted it, and I helped make that happen for her. Up until seven months ago, I tried being that wife every woman wants. I tried. I tried hard, and she never once appreciated anything I did for her, which pushed me further away and into the arms of another woman.
Never once have I ever gotten a thank you from her. Not for anything I have ever done, bought, or had given to her. I had given her full access to all of my bank accounts and my credit cards, and she used them like it was free money growing on trees.
That's all coming to an end. And Kendal will soon find that out.
I picked up my suitcases, and as she continued yelling and throwing everything she could find at me, I stormed out of the house, opened my trunk, and quickly flung my suitcases inside. "Where the fuck are you going to now?" Kendal screamed.
"Far away from you," I retorted as I closed the trunk. "Far. Far. Far away from you." I opened my door, slid in my seat, and yelled, "Don't you dare bother to come looking for me. And if you try to call or even try texting me. I will not answer or respond to your texts. Got it?"
I slammed my door, started the car, then squealed my tires as I drove out of the driveway as fast as I could. Knowing my father was still not doing well, I decided that I would go there first. While driving to my parents, I called Jennie to let her know what happened with Kemdal and asked her not to answer her door if Kendal were to revisit her; I also informed her that I would see her after visiting with my parents.
I entered my parents' home, heard them talking in the living room, and walked over to them. I noticed how tired he looked and had to ask, "How are you doing, old man?"
"Tired. But mostly annoyed."
"Annoyed?" I questioned while looking at my mom, having a feeling his answer was because of her.
"That's what I said, isn't it? Your mother is annoying the hell out of me. I can't even breathe without her asking if I'm alright. If I make a sound, she asks what happened for me to make that sound. As I said, she's annoying the hell out of me."
I chuckled and smirked. "She's only doing her job as a wife and making sure you're okay. That's all... if she didn't love you, she wouldn't be annoying you, right?"
"Ack," he groaned, waving his hand across his face.
"Maybe you can talk him into eating these vegetables," my mother said, pointing to his plate that was resting on his lap.
"I already told you. I'm not eating these without butter and salt."
I rolled my eyes and groaned, "Just eat them, will you?"
"How in the hell can you eat cooked broccoli or cauliflower without butter or salt? Or even cheese?"
"Very easy," I smiled. "I stab my fork into them, place them into my mouth, and then I chew and swallow them. How hard is that?"
"You're just like your mother."
That I am.
"Just do as the doctor says. It's for your health. And right now, your health isn't the greatest, so I suggest you follow the doctor's orders. When you get back to where you need to be, then do what you want to do. In moderation, that is."
My father gave me a dirty look, then picked up his fork, angrily stabbed his fork into a piece of broccoli, and stared at me as he shoved it into his mouth. "Happy..." he groaned as he chewed.
"Yes. Thank you."
Arguing with my father and seeing how worn out my mother was taking care of him hit my heart. My father may act like he's annoyed with my mother, but I know better. He loves it. He loves her and just likes to push my mother's buttons to see how angry he can get her. And I know, once I leave, he'll apologize to her. He always does. But seeing my parents together, acting as they do, had me thinking. I want what they have meaning showing and having a love for one another as my parents have with each other.
Kendal and I do not have that. We never have. And it had me thinking about Jennie and the baby.
I wasn't sure about my father's health and where he'll be around Christmas, and I felt now was the time to fill them in on what's going on with me before it's too late.
I looked from my father to my mother, raking my fingers through my hair as I thought of my situation with Kendal and Jennie, and sighed hard while sitting on the couch.
"Mom. Dad. There's something I need to talk to you about."
"Oh? What about?"
"It's about a few things, actually. But first things first," I said, pausing when both my parents' eyes curiously glued to mine.
"Go on," my father groaned.
I looked away from my parents', then down to my fidgeting hands while exhaling all the air I had just held in my lungs. I wasn't sure exactly how well they'd take to me admitting I've been unfaithful to Kendal, but here it goes.
I stopped fidgeting and looked back to them, coming right out with it and saying what my mother has been waiting to hear for three years. "You're going to be grandparents."
My mother gasped, then smiled and excitedly clapped. "Oh, it's about time! I didn't think you would ever impregnate Kendal.
I looked down and sighed. "It's not Kendal who's pregnant," I said, raising one eye to see the expressions on their face.
My father's expression? Not too happy and looking disappointed in me. My mother's? She actually seems somewhat relieved.
My father cleared his throat. "Say what? What do you mean it's not Kendal who's pregnant?"
I know my mother never cared for Kendal, and as for my father? He never liked her either, but is old fashioned and feels once you're married, you're married forever, no matter how bad the relationship is.
"Please don't look at me like that," I said, looking right at my father. "I've been wanting to talk to you both for a long time and have been putting it off because of dad's health. But I can't do that any longer. And I wish for you both to listen, to hear me out, and to not judge who I'm about to talk to you about."
My mother said nothing, and I wasn't sure what to expect from the expression her face was giving off. My father looked at my mother; then he looked at me while removing the plate from his lap and setting it on the table next to him.
"I'm all ears," he said.
"Well. For three years, I have not been happy and have regretted marrying Kendal since day one. I've tried hard to make it work, but unfortunately, it hasn't worked out the way I hoped it would. About seven months ago, I accidentally and unintentionally met someone. At first, I never expected a relationship to bloom between us, but it did. The more we talked and hung out, I fell in love. I actually fell in love for the first time in my life."
"I thought you were in love with Kendal?" My father asked.
I shook my head. "No. I thought I was at one time. But now I know it was never love. The day I stood at the alter, I almost ran. I was seconds away from running until Kendal started walking down the aisle. I didn't want to embarrass her in front of her friends and family, and I was afraid of embarrassing you and mom, that I stood there like an idiot, doing something I didn't want to do. I now know what true love is. Had it not be for Jennie, I wouldn't know what love truly was, what it felt like to love someone, or what it felt like to be loved by someone. And because of my stupidity, I almost lost her by lying and hiding the truth about me. So, please. I beg of you, do not judge Jennie, as she had no clue I was married up until recently."
"You're an idiot," my father groaned.
"I know," I admitted, sighing. "But I couldn't continue going on the way I was. I was miserable, and it got to the point in my life where I was ready to hang it up."
"You wouldn't!" My mother cried out.
"Kendal is not a nice person and thrives on hurting people. She's not happy unless she's hurting someone. She has no heart, no feelings, and no morals. Kendal is only for herself. And no matter what I did to please her, it was never enough. The woman is never happy. And had I not met Jennie when I did, we wouldn't be here right now, talking about this, or me telling you, you have a grandchild on the way."
My mother looked at my father and smiled. "I never liked the bitch, anyway."
Hearing my mother say what she did made me smile. "I would love for you two to meet her, and once you do, you'll fall in love with her. Jennie is extremely beautiful. She's smart, very loving, and she has one amazing beautiful heart. And the best part is, she's pregnant with my child, and I couldn't be any happier than I am now."
My mother came over, sat next to me, then pulled me in for a hug. "I want to see you happy. And if that means leaving Kendal I'm all for it, and I would love to meet who makes you happy," she said, making me smile.
"I hope you know what you're doing," my father said.
I lowered my arms from my mother and looked over at him.
"I know exactly what I'm doing," I assured.
"If this is what and who you want, then I say go for it," my father said, finally smiling at me. "It's not how I raised you and youre brother, but you can't live miserably either."
"Thanks for understanding my feelings. And I know, once you meet Jennie, you'll understand why I'm doing what I am."
"When do we get to meet this girl?" My mother asked.
"Well, I'd like for you to meet her as soon as possible, and I thought I could make dinner reservations for tomorrow night. That is, if it works for all of us.
"I would like that," my mother smiled.
"Perfect. I'll talk to Jennie and will set things up tomorrow."
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