Memoirs

Divorce

January 18, 2009. I was ten years old. My father and mother sat my sister and I down on our ancient white sofas. As my younger sister, Ally, elongated her legs out onto the pillows, I remained curled up in a little ball in the corner. I knew what was about to happen. I had known for months.

“Girls, your mother and I are going to get a divorce”, my father told us.

The room stayed quiet.

“What does that mean?” my innocent seven-year-old sister asked him. Even though she didn’t know what a divorce was, she was already crying.

“It means that I am no longer going to be living here, and that your mother and I will no longer be married. I will still see you on weekends, but I will be staying somewhere else.” my father explained.

Now, my mother was crying too, but I still remained emotionless. Do you know the feeling you get when you know you’re about to hear bad news? And it feels like there is a ball in your throat and it’s going to suffocate you? I remained motionless because I thought that if I moved, that ball would just keep expanding until I couldn’t breathe. Or maybe it’s only me who feels that way when I heard bad news. After all, I do have asthma.

I remained in my corner, staring at a hole in our white sofa as my sister asked more and more questions, and my dad tried his best to answer them. After ten minutes I had had enough. I got up and ran to my bathroom and locked the door, and didn’t leave the room until the next morning.

I knew that my parents were going to separate in November of 2008. My mother couldn’t hold herself together after she heard the news. Both of my parents travelled a lot for their work, and throughout November of 2008, I noticed my parents were hardly ever at home at the same ti...

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...as going on around her.

I get a text from my ex.

Mitch: Hey so how’s everything going?

Nikki: Not much, my dad just told me that he asked Ada to marry him

………………

Mitch: You knew that was going to happen sooner or later

And I didn’t reply. It just reminded that he was a self-absorbed person who I shouldn’t have wasted my time with.

When we finished dinner, my dad said goodbye to my sister and I, as we made our way back home.

When I got home, I didn’t cry, I didn’t feel the need to lash out or mope in a corner. I just accepted it, and was finding ways to move on and get over the fact that he was going to start a new life without me. Either way, I was off to college in two years, so I’m glad he found someone who makes him happy. I found out that I was a lot stronger than I thought I was. And that I am able to find ways to deal with situations I face.