Chapter Thirty

Stephanie POV

I quickly developed a good routine to ensure our lives went smoothly. Zoë and I woke up, got ready and ate breakfast. Then I dropped her off at daycare and continued to Rangeman. I worked all morning, broke for lunch, then continued doing searches until four o'clock. Ranger and I did forty-five minutes of self-defence lessons, and then I did another half an hour on the treadmill. Since I wasn't a novice to running, I tended to knock out about three miles in that time. I'd pick up Zoë after that, and we'd go home. That was my basic plan. It didn't allow for much downtime, but now that I was a single parent, I'd have to get used to that. And I did consider myself a single parent. Even if The Dick weren't in jail, I would still fight for sole custody.

Instead of going right home tonight, we were heading into the lion's den. I tried to tell myself that my dad and grandma wouldn't let my mom bully me, but it's been a mixed bag of results in the past.

We arrived at my parents' house at five minutes to six. Just early enough not to be accused of ruining dinner by being late but late enough not to have to spend much time awkwardly socializing while waiting for dinner to be ready.

When we arrived, my mom and Grandma Mazur were standing on the front porch. I unbuckled Zoë from her car seat and walked toward the house. Zoë was holding my hand and shyly half-hiding herself behind me. Zoë is not often shy, as evidenced by her immediate rapport with Ranger, but something about my childhood home and family brought it out in her.

"Stephie, it's so good to see you," said my grandma happily, reaching out to hug me as I neared. I hugged her tightly and said, "it's good to see you too, Grandma."

She leaned down to hug Zoë next, and I turned to my mom and smiled. "Hi, Mom. It's good to see you. How are you?"

She patted me on the shoulder and said, "I'm well, Stephanie. Thank you for asking. How are you doing?"

I nodded my head noncommittally. I didn't want to tell her I was fine because that'd be lying, but I didn't want to get into anything out here.

We entered the house, and my mom reached out for Zoë, who hugged her uncomfortably before scooting behind me. My mom looked disapproving, but I didn't care. I had taught Zoë she always had the right to say no to any sort of touching by anyone, including me and her dad, so if that's all she wanted to give my mom, it was fine with me, and I'd never make her do more.

My dad ambled over from his La-Z-Boy recliner in the living room, and I hugged him. He hadn't told my mom he visited me at Jeanne Ellen's house, for which I was grateful. With my mom, it's best to keep her on a need-to-know basis. Zoë hugged his knees enthusiastically. Judging by my mom's pursed lips of disapproval, she had noted it was different from Zoë's greeting to her.

We sat down at the dining room table for dinner. My mom had prepared roasted chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes tonight; thankfully, Zoë would eat all that. I loved her roasted chicken, so it was shaping up to be a good meal.

The conversation was light until Grandma asked, "where's that handsome husband of yours, Stephie dear?" Everyone looked up from their plates at me, and it was like a record scratch where the entire world and all background noise ceased.

I cleared my throat and replied, "I can't talk right now about where he is, but I can tell you we've separated and started divorce proceedings." My dad looked a little curious about the first part of my statement since I hadn't talked to him since before our trip to New York to file a police complaint, but no one else noticed. He didn't seem surprised at the second part of my announcement. He started talking to Zoë quietly, and I appreciated that he was trying to distract her.

"What do you mean you're getting divorced?" my mom said loudly, pinning me with her gaze. My grandmother was watching me avidly, too.

I sighed. "I mean, we've decided that we can't be married anymore, so we're getting a divorce. And I don't want to discuss it right now with little pitchers around, okay? Can we just enjoy the meal? Mom, this chicken is delicious."

My mom looked upset, but she agreed to the subject change. "Thank you, Stephanie. I know you always loved my roast chicken. I've made you some chocolate cake too."

My ears perked. "Chocolate cake?"

She smiled. "With a raspberry filling in the middle."

"Wow, thanks, Mom."

We continued eating, and the small talk all but ceased. I could tell everyone was thinking about my pronouncement; that's what I was thinking of. When dinner was over, my mom and grandma excused themselves to the kitchen to bring out dessert. My dead leaned toward me and whispered, "I'll take Zoë to the living room to play with some of Mary Alice and Angie's old toys, okay? Then you can tell them what you want to tell them."

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Dad. I'll call you tomorrow and let you know everything that's been happening."

He smiled and patted my hand. "I'd love to hear your plans moving forward."

I nodded. "I've made them. You'll be pleased."

My mom was holding out the cake from her chest, almost like it was a birthday celebration, and it was lit with candles. She set it down on the table, and my grandma followed her, carrying small plates and forks. The cake was dished out, and we dug in eagerly. My mom makes a delicious chocolate cake.

After Zoë and Dad finished their cake, he asked her, "Zoë, would you like to see some of Angie and Mary Alice's old toys?"

"Okay, Grandpa." He took her hand and led her out of the dining room. I know he wants me to tell Mom and Grandma everything, hoping they understand how badly The Dick has screwed me over. But I think Grandma will use that information to gossip about me with her friends at her beauty parlour, and I can't see my mom being sympathetic.

Once Zoë and Dad were out of the room, my mom and grandma turned to me with pointed looks. Sigh. There's no getting out of this.

"I'll tell you everything that's been going on. But first, I need you both to promise me two things. Okay?" I looked at both women, and each just nodded. "First, this is not something I want to spread around. I do not want this to hit the 'Burg grapevine or be grist for the gossip mill at the beauty parlour. It's private and personal, and painful. Please respect me enough to keep it to yourselves." I stopped talking and waited for them to acknowledge what I said. Once they nodded again, I continued. "Second, I need you to listen to everything I say before you reply. A lot has happened over the past two weeks."

I sipped the coffee my mom had served with the cake and launched right into it. "I came home from the aquarium with Zoë and found Richard having sex with our nanny in our bed. I made him leave. The next day, I took two weeks off from work to come to Trenton to stay with Jeanne Ellen. This was just over two weeks ago." My mom's sharp intake of breath distracted me, and I glared at her. She didn't say anything, however. "I found out Richard has a second wife in Connecticut and twin boys with her."

My grandma couldn't hold her tongue anymore. "Cripes, Stephanie!" I just nodded. There wasn't much more I could add to that.

"He's also become something of a porn director and has uploaded videos of me, without my knowledge, and of his second wife, our nanny, and a couple of other women I don't know. These are pay sites, so he's been making money from them. This is how he makes the bulk of his money because, as of yesterday, it's been confirmed that he never passed the Bar exam and is not working as a lawyer but as a paralegal. So that's what's been going on with Richard and me. He was arrested yesterday in New York on charges relating to bigamy and the porn videos of me. I hope you can both understand why we're getting divorced and why we will never get back together. I hope you can respect my wishes and keep this to yourself." I took another sip of my coffee. "Now, I have more news. I've moved back to Trenton, and I'm temporarily staying with Jeanne Ellen. That should end soon, and Zoë and I will move into our own place. I've gotten a good new job, and Zoë started a new daycare this week."

"Why isn't she in kindergarten?" my mom interrupted.

"It's not mandatory for kids to attend kindergarten in New Jersey. I wasn't sure what I'd be doing when I set it all up, and I didn't know if I could make it over there halfway through the day to shuttle her from kindergarten to daycare, so she's just going to stay in daycare this year and go directly into the first grade next fall."

"Where are you working, baby Granddaughter?" Grandma Mazur asked.

"I'm working for a security company called Rangeman. I'm their new Head of Research," I said proudly.

"That seems like an important job. Are you qualified for that?" my mom asked.

I stared at her for a moment. Would it kill her to be supportive of me? Geesh. "Yes, Mom. I am doing very well at my job. So much so that they made me the head of the department, and the job comes with a company car." I didn't bother to mention that Tank is one of the partners. I knew my mother would assume I got the job because of him. Even though that's true, I don't think he and Ranger would have hired me to head up the entire department if they didn't know I could do it. She didn't care enough to understand what Jeanne Ellen or Tank did for a living, so she wouldn't associate Tank with Rangeman.

My mother sniffed. "Well, I must say. You've certainly made a mess of your life, haven't you?"

My dad chose that moment to re-enter the dining room. "Helen!" he shouted. "I do not know everything happening in Stephanie's life, but I do know none of it has been her fault. You will apologize to her immediately."

She rolled her eyes at her husband but stiffly said, "I'm sorry, Stephanie. That was uncalled for."

I nodded but didn't reply. "I think Zoë and I should go. Thank you for dinner."

I rounded up Zoë from the living room and got her boots and coat on. As I put on my jacket, my grandma said, "I'm so sorry for everything you've been going through. I promise I will not spread gossip about you. I love you and am glad you've moved back to Trenton. Please don't be a stranger. Call me anytime." She gathered me in her bony arms, hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek.

I hugged my dad and nodded to my mom. On the drive to Jeanne Ellen's place, my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the phone number but answered it anyway through the stereo controls. I was shocked to learn it was Debra, The Dick's second wife.

"Debra, I'd love to talk to you, but I am in the car with my daughter right now, and you're on speaker. Can I call you when I get home in about ten minutes?" She agreed, and I hung up, thinking over possible reasons for her call.

We arrived home about five minutes later, and I asked Jeanne Ellen to get Zoë ready for bed, explaining that I needed to call Debra back. Her eyes widened, and she made me promise to tell her everything later. When I nodded, she hustled Zoë to the pool house for her bedtime routine.

Half an hour later, Jeanne Ellen was back. "So?" she said eagerly.

"You are not going to believe this," I said happily.

A/N: Haha, sorry for the cliffhanger (not really that sorry). I'll post again soon from Jeanne Ellen's POV.