6. Case For A Good Prenup
Case For A Good Prenup
Mark Jagger
Inever called the cops on Rose and I let her get away with things scot free.
See, I didn’t want her to think it was a free pass to rock the boat, but I was planning bigger things for Rose and it was in our interests for her to think that she’d won.
What really tempted me to turn to the dark side was the way she’d beat up on Lola.
I know Lola’s a tough chick — tougher than she looks — but I still couldn’t believe that Rose had gone as far as assault.
I encouraged Lola to press charges but she refused.
I think she trusted that I had bigger things up my sleeve.
Which I did. It would only come undone if Rose escalated her tactics ahead of time.
As we’d promised, things cooled off between me and Lola.
I suspected that Rose was always sniffing about for clues, sticking her nose in places she shouldn’t be to find critical info about my love life.
I didn’t have much proof but it was a strong intuitive feeling.
How she’d found out all that stuff about Lola would have shocked me — if I didn’t know how much of a loose-lipped Lucy her assistant was.
When my next days with the kids approached, I found it harder to sleep. The dreams were like some of those my buddies who had been in Afghanistan had. Not even kidding, I was haunted by Rose. I’d wake up in cold sweats worrying that she’d done something crazy to the kids this time.
She’d gone far, but she hadn’t gone that far. Yet. I didn’t trust her.
I got into the car after a grueling day at the clinic.
My own assistant had overbooked me and my nerves wore down to a thin thread before I had to leave and pick up the kids.
I checked my calendar and they had two soccer games back to back in the evening.
Crazy. Kids these days have all these organized sports and events.
Back in my day, we’d kick a ball down the street for four hours by ourselves and call that a fine and dandy good time.
Still, they were my kids so I paid for them to join every fun social activity I could think of.
Any time around normal people instead of their mother was a blessing.
I think the kids appreciated it to — in their own kiddie ways which sometimes involve complaining senselessly about practice, uniforms or the heat of the sun.
When I got to Rose’s place the yard was trashed. I felt a pit in my stomach. I needed to get my kids out of this damned mess.
I knocked on the door and was greeted by a whole new Rose. I knew she’d done this to throw me off.
Rose had taken her hair and shaved it all off.
I’m not talking about a buzz cut, I mean Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson bald.
There wasn’t a single hair on her head and her head was nearly spit shined.
She greeted me with a smile, likely soaking up joy from the expression on my face which I hadn’t bothered to hide.
“Kids?”
“KIDS!” She screamed, “DADDY’S HERE!”
She turned back to look at me with a smile.
“Mark, you’re looking handsome today.”
“Save it Rose. I’m not in the mood.”
She folded her arms and cocked her head to the side, “Something wrong at work?”
“No.”
I heard footsteps upstairs but the kids couldn’t have been taking their time more.
I was stuck there with Rose, trying my best not to let her get under my skin.
She’d gotten me pretty good the other day, forcing me to bring out my trusty weapon.
But this time, I was on her turf and I couldn’t fire a warning shot to scare her off.
(There were a million different reasons I couldn’t do that.)
“You look a bit tired,” She asked, “Trouble in paradise?”
“Huh?”
“Oh well I’m guessing your little girlfriend left you after I told her the truth about you.”
“I said save it Rose,” I grit my teeth, holding back an explosion.
She smiled smugly, “Make one threat towards me Mark and I’ll call the cops and tell them you’re stalking me.”
“I’m just here for the kids Rose.”
She rubbed her hand over her head.
“Like my hair cut?”
“No.”
“It’s so freeing Mark… So freeing. I can just be myself like this.”
Before I could respond to her, the kids came downstairs with bright smiles on their faces.
I hurried them out the door and Rose cooed a faux-pleasant goodbye as we got into the car and drove towards the game.
In the car the kids were quiet for a bit.
Then they started getting chatty and babbling on in that twin way of theirs that I could barely understand.
I wondered if the kids were really alright or if they just put on a show for me.
I’d find out soon enough.
“Hey kids,” I interrupted them, “How’s your mother.”
Preston and Poppy exchanged glances in the backseat as if they were debating telling the truth.
“You say,” Preston whispered.
Poppy sat up and glared at him, then she leaned forward.
“Let’s just say, we’re very happy to be in this car right now.”
She sat back. Preston shrugged as if her explanation was good enough for him. Between this and Rose’s spit-shine bald head, I had a feeling that our little situation might escalate faster than I was willing to admit.
When they got to practice, they ran out of the car and started playing with their friends. I talked to a few of the moms and then I sat down, just watching the kids play. It felt good, just sitting back and letting my mind wander as I watched my kids screaming and laughing in the sun.
They were my everything. I knew that by allowing them to stay with their mother, I was allowing a lot of hurt into their lives. I couldn’t stand it. I thought about the baby that Lola had told me about and I worried that I’d expose that child of mine to hurt in some way or another.
I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t find a way out.
But I had to. Now, I didn’t just have to worry about Poppy and Preston.
I had to worry about Lola and the baby she was carrying in her belly.
Rose had come close to hurting Lola and I couldn’t forgive myself for that either.
Lola could easily get spooked and leave me behind…
That would be a worse fate than anything.
While my kids were playing, I caught sight of a familiar face across the field. Candy. It had been a while since we’d seen each other and our relationship was definitely over. On her terms. I preferred when I was the one who got dumped. It was a lot easier for both of us to move on.
Candy spotted me after I spotted her. She started walking towards me with a smile on her face.
After the past couple of days, I felt tense and I returned her smile with a half-hearted one.
Candy waved and sat down next to me. I noticed the other soccer moms eyeing us, envisioning stories about the two of us and our relationship in their head. I tried to ignore the stares.
“Long time no see stranger,” Candy said.
She looked like she’d put on a bit of weight since we’d last seen each other but she looked good with it on.
“How are you doing?” I asked, looking at her and noticing that she seemed much happier since we’d broken up.
That was good.
She grinned at me and then replied, “Can’t you tell?”
“Can’t I tell what?”
Women loved speaking in code sometimes in a way I didn’t have the energy to piece together.
“I’m pregnant!” She squealed.
My heart dropped. I could feel the color rushing out of my face and my mouth felt dry as I desperately tried to form a response.
She chuckled, “Don’t be an idiot Mark. It’s not yours.”
“Oh thank God,” I blurted out without thinking.
Candy chuckled, “Gosh, you’re still the same old commitmentphobe huh?”
I shrugged, “I guess.”
“Well as I said, you don’t have to worry. It isn’t yours.”
“Whose the lucky guy then?”
Candy blushed, “Are you sure this isn’t going to be weird for you?”
I shook my head and assured her, it wouldn’t be. While my feelings for Candy had been very real, I’d moved on. Lola was the only woman I really thought of anymore. I was sure Candy would be surprised to find out, but I had no interest in telling her who I’d ended up falling for.
“Tell me.”
Candy sighed, “I met this guy… He’s amazing. He wants me to move to Atlanta with him and start a family.”
“Are you going?” I asked her.
Candy shrugged, “I don’t know. I never planned to have a baby out of wedlock.”
“Do you love him?”
“Mark!”
“Sorry. I don’t want this to be weird for you either.”
She rested her arm against mine apologetically.
“Yes. I love him.”
“Then that’s all I need to hear. Love matters Candy. Don’t throw it away.”
“But I’d have to leave this town… This is where I’ve grown up. This is where I’ve made so many memories.”
“But you can make even more in Atlanta.”
Candy smiled at me and then kissed me on the cheek.
“I’ll always value what we had Mark.”
“Thanks,” I grunted.
She kept grinning, “You always keep your cards so close to the chest. A woman who could make you open up must be something special.”
I smiled, not bothering to tell her that I thought I’d found such a woman already.
Candy stood up and parted ways with me. I gave her a long hug, and let her go.
I had no trouble letting go of the women in my past. It didn’t bother me to say goodbye.
What did bother me was how easy it was for me to give Candy advice, while I was struggling to find a way out of my own messy situation.
The truth of the matter was, I needed to think about Lola. If I loved her, what was really the right thing to do? We were taking space from each other, but this space didn’t feel right. I missed her.
My kids finished up their games and I helped the kids cool down and then guided them to the snacks.
This week, a chubby soccer mom had baked vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free cupcakes for the team.
Back in my day, we just had cupcakes. But kids these days have all types of allergies and restrictions, so they were forced to eat cupcakes that tasted shockingly good for their restricted ingredient list.