After she left, I checked my phone.
Six texts from Seth.
The first two were apologies. The third explained how stressed he’d been about money. The fourth complained that Heather had been bugging him about the loan for months. The fifth suggested we meet with Reverend Thomas.
The sixth one came in at 10:43 that morning.
If you could just help Heather for a week or two, I think everybody would calm down. Then we can deal with us.
I stared at that message.
Even now, he was making getting back together depend on me cleaning up his mess.
I wrote a reply. Deleted it. Wrote another one.
Finally I sent:
I will not be taking care of Heather’s children. Please only contact me about exchanging our things and splitting the wedding costs. I need space.
He answered in seconds.
I can’t believe you’re being this cold.
I put my phone face down on the table.
I wanted to tell him how much I’d loved him. How I’d pictured us growing old together. How I’d walked into that church believing I was marrying my best friend.
Nothing about any of that was cold.
But I was too tired to keep explaining my feelings to somebody who only used them to argue with me.
Around noon, Heather called.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said.
“It’s okay.”
“I wanted you to know I’m trying to figure things out.”
I could hear Ben in the background asking for something.
“I called Colin last night,” Heather said. “He said his schedule’s packed this week, but he’s going to see what he can move. And I left a message for my supervisor.”
“Heather. Have you called the county’s childcare referral line? They can tell you which licensed providers have openings right now.”
“I didn’t know there was one.”
“I’ll send you the number.”
“Thank you.”
“Did you tell Colin what happened?”
“Some of it.”
“He’s their dad. He needs to be part of figuring this out.”
She sighed. “I know. We’ve been fighting about schedules ever since we split.”
It was complicated. But complicated didn’t mean impossible.
And it didn’t make it my responsibility.
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
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