Ferry Tails .... 2.5

Ferry Tails --- this is the second half of chapter 2:

Seven months later Robin’s world was completely different. She’d managed to work out an arrangement with her boss to drop her kids off at day care and still work a full day and pick them up before dinner. Lance had wasted no time in moving in with his girl friend and she had no desire to be tied down with a four year old and eighteen month old toddler. When the final divorce decree arrived Robin wept. How could thirteen years be wiped out with one piece of paper? At twenty nine, she had been with Lance since she was sixteen, she felt not only a great sadness, but a huge sense of failure.

“We had everything going for us,” she spoke to her mom on the phone. “What did I do wrong?”

“Did you ever stop and think for a minute that you are not to blame for any of this?”

“How is that even possible? He said it was because of the kids and I’m the one who made that decision.”

“Really? Then when didn’t he leave you when you first got pregnant?”

There was a pause in the conversation.

“Robin I love you more than anything on this earth and I would do anything to make your pain go away, but you have to stop beating yourself up over Lance. This was his decision to stray and then ultimately to leave you. If you stop and think for a minute about his agreement to only see his children two days a month you will realize that this has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the fact that he is a selfish man. Right now you need to concentrate on what is the most important, and that is your little Angel and Bruce.”

Robin sniffled in the phone. “I know you’re right, but I just don’t know if I can do this on my own.”

“Do you want me to come and stay with you for a while?” Robin’s parents Catherine and Ted had moved to Florida as soon as Robin had graduated from college. They came back to California at least once a year to see their daughter and Robin had been to Florida several times.

“No Mom, that’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“I think you should see if you can find a group of young divorced mothers. They will understand exactly what you’re going through and you might even make some new friends.”

“And exactly what time of day would I have to do that? Between getting the kids ready for the day, getting them to daycare, going to work, picking them up, getting dinner on the table and then getting them ready for bed I’m completely exhausted. It’s not like I can count on Lance to do anything he says. He’s already missed two scheduled days with the kids.”

“You can always get a sitter.”

“Mom, my kids and I don’t see each other enough. I love you too, but for right now I think I’m going to have to work this one out on my own.”

By Angel’s fifth birthday Robin’s life had derived a rhythm of its own and it did not include anyone from the outside world. The world revolved around her two children and work; there was no time or desire for anyone else.

Links to earlier portions of the story:

Chapter 1

Chapter 1.5

Chapter 2