After a fight with her husband, Charles, Jess gives him time to cool down at his best friend’s house, with the promise that he’ll return home the next day for them to talk. But when Jess scrolls through social media, she finds that Linda, Charles’ mother, has announced their divorce. Is there truth to the story or did Jess miss something?
My husband and I had a huge fight one evening. It was rare but not unheard of for us. We were both hot-headed individuals, and sometimes our emotions got in the way of reasoning.
But long story short, Charles stormed out of the house and spent the night at his best friend’s place. I could still see his location, and he called me to let me know that he’d be home the next day.
“I just need some time to cool off,” Charles said. “But I’ll be home tomorrow, and we can sit down and talk. Okay?”
And just like that, I knew that we’d be okay.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said.
With nothing but my thoughts to occupy me, I decided to take a bubble bath and have an early night.
“May as well just take a personal night,” I muttered to myself as the bathtub filled.
The next day, I cooked up a storm. I knew that irrespective of how upset Charles had been the day before, he would look forward to dinner together once he got home.
While waiting for him to come home, I lounged on the couch, scrolling through my socials when a post from my mother-in-law made my jaw drop.
It featured a very unflattering picture of me with the caption:
Cheers to new beginnings! I’m happy to announce that my son is no longer associated with this psychotic gold digger. Charles is back on the market! Ladies under 25, please message me so that I can set up a date…
My heart raced as nausea took over my body. I read the words over and over, Linda’s voice ringing in my head.
“This has to be a joke,” I said, dialing my mother-in-law’s number, barely able to keep my hands from shaking.
“Hello?” she answered, her voice sugary sweet.
“Linda, what the hell is this?” I nearly shouted, my voice trembling with anger as I fought to hold back my tears.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, either completely oblivious or just acting very well.
“Your Facebook post!” I exploded.
“Oh, that,” she replied. “Charles hasn’t told you yet? We both decided it would be better if you two parted ways. I mean, let’s face it, Jess, you’re not the perfect person for my son. He deserves someone who truly appreciates him.”
What was she going on about?
“He deserves someone who appreciates him? You mean like me? His wife? The actual woman he married?” I shouted.
I was pacing through my living room, trying to process what she was saying.
“And why on earth would you post something like this on Facebook? This is humiliating! What will everyone think about this?”
“Well, Jess,” she said slowly. “He called me last night and told me all about your fight.”
She paused, as if trying to choose her words carefully.
“He said some pretty harsh things, and I just thought it was time to take action. Clearly, my son is fed up with the situation. You should just let him go. Be graceful about this, Jess. Let him meet someone new.”
“Linda, you are just unbelievable,” I snapped, ending the call before she could respond.
I sat on the couch, my mind racing. My husband and I had our problems, but we always worked through them.
“Our marriage is everything to me,” Charles told me when we made up after one of our fights. “So, you need to believe me when I say that a few fights won’t break us.”
But now, how could Linda think that it was her place to announce something like this? And how could Charles let her do it?
Charles wouldn’t hurt me like that.
I ended up taking a nap on the couch. I needed my brain to just switch off for a bit.
And then my husband came home.
“Hey,” he said softly, approaching me.
“Hey?” I echoed, standing up and shoving my phone in his face. “Explain this, Charles? What is this?”
My husband took the phone and his face fell as he read the post.
I knew Charles; there was no way that he would fake such a reaction.
“Oh my God, I… Jess, I didn’t know she did this,” he said.
“You didn’t know? Charles, really? Your mother announced the end of our marriage on Facebook! How could she think that’s okay?”
“Look, I called her last night to vent,” he admitted, rubbing his temples.
“I said a lot of things I didn’t mean. I was just angry, you know? But I never said that I wanted a divorce. I didn’t say anything about ending our marriage. I was going to tell you everything tonight.”
“What did you say to her, Charles? What made her think you wanted a divorce?” I demanded, my frustration boiling over.
“I told her that we were arguing about money again,” he confessed, looking ashamed. “I told her that I was tired of the fighting and that I couldn’t take it anymore. But I never said I wanted to leave you. I was just venting.”
“Well, explain it to the rest of the world,” I said, handing him my phone.
I didn’t know what to feel. On the one hand, money was a constant topic in our home. I worked in catering and it wasn’t always easy to find high-paying gigs. Most of the time, the financial burden was left to Charles, and he did provide for us both.
But I didn’t think that the situation had gotten so bad that we were actually on the verge of divorce.
My husband looked at me with sad eyes.
“Is it really that bad? Is it too difficult? Should we consider ending our marriage?” I asked him, the questions pouring out of my mouth.
“No, Jess,” he said firmly. “We do need to talk about it and maybe make some changes to our lifestyle, but there’s nothing about divorce. I don’t want it. Do you?”
I shook my head.
Charles sighed and dialed his mother’s number.
“Mom, take down the post,” he said as soon as she answered.
“But Charles, I thought that—”
“No, you thought wrong,” he interrupted. “We had a fight. It doesn’t mean that we’re ending our marriage. Take it down now.”
I could hear her sputtering on the other end before he hung up. He turned to me, his face filled with regret.
“I’m so sorry, Jess,” he said. “I never meant for her to take it to such lengths.”
“Sorry?” I asked, feeling my tears slide down my face. “Do you have any idea how humiliating this is for me? Everyone we’ve ever known probably thinks that we’re splitting up now. And why? Because your mother wanted to find you someone else?”
Charles looked down, guilt etched into his features.
“I know. And I’ll make this right. I promise.”
He reached out and took my hand, squeezing it gently.
“Look, since everyone thinks that we’re getting divorced now anyway, let’s renew our vows, Jess.”
“What?” I asked, shock and amusement taking over.
“Look, darling,” he said. “I know that our fights about money are exhausting and repetitive. But we can talk it through like always. And I think that your culinary school idea is perfect. I’m going to move around some funds to pay for it, love.”
Culinary school was something that I had wanted for a very long time.
“It’s going to open doors for you, Jess. The opportunities will come flooding in.”
This was the man that I married. Not the sleazy one that Linda made him out to be. A man who would allow his mother to announce his divorce on her social media and allow her to plan dates for him.
“Yes,” I agreed. “Maybe a vow renewal is exactly what we need.”
In the weeks that came, Charles and I planned a little ceremony with only our siblings and my parents. Linda wasn’t invited. We did it in our backyard and it was probably the most healing thing we could have done for ourselves.
“We just needed to be reminded of who we are,” Charles said as we cut the cake I had made. “We’re stronger together, Jess.”
I’ll admit that my blood boils when I see Linda, but at least I know that Charles and I are good. And our communication is so much better now. I’ve enrolled in culinary school and I work at a trendy café part-time.
We’re going to succeed.
What would you have done?
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