The Lakehouse of Hope

She showed up at the lake house after the weekend from hell. The breakup took it out of her; she sat on the bed, took a deep breath in, and said, “I’m free.” She started unpacking her stuff, the little that, wasn’t destroyed, as she pulled the broken cookie jar her late grandmother had made, the china she had told her about as a child now in pieces in a box. It related to the pieces of her broken life. Just her and her two kids and dogs now. “Now, what am I going to do.” The first night was the worst. With lots of tears and confusion from everyone. “How does a marriage just end; it ends so fast like it was nothing. In a split second, everything you’ve worked for gone. Now they are left with your ghost, and you are left picking up the pieces of your life. Was he a bad guy? some would say yes, but she saw a side of him that was different, kind, and loving. She saw his potential to be a great man, a great father, and a husband. He would go out of his way for everyone but them. For some reason, they were always put on the back burner. She knew him kicking her out was the only way she would have truly left him, and now it was no longer about her, it was about their safety. You don’t realize what pills do to you till he’s acting out of his character and kicking his own family out. The saddest and scariest thing, he doesn’t remember much of that night, but she and her kids will never forget it.

She wakes up to a houseful of cheerful voices her children are up, and even though she would like nothing more than to crawl into a ball and sulk she had to get up.

Halloween was right around the corner, and her six-year-old daughter Amelia wanted nothing more than to be Wonder Woman. Her son Jasper wanted to be Batman, but because of leaving their home, she didn’t know if they would be able to make that happen for them. Her sister Bailey tried to drive by their old house to see if their costumes came in the mail but to no avail. So, they put their heads together and decided to make them. Got a red tee-shirt and cut slits in it, all the way down the length of the shirt and up the sleeves, then tied it. She then sewed a wonder woman emblem in the center; put her daughter in some gold leggings, put a crown on her head, and she was ready for Halloween. For Jasper, he got to go as a terrifying clown with a crazy red wig and insane mask. She thought it quite suiting what she decided to go with. A witch, he called her one often enough. She was a beautiful one though, and the hat she went with, it was vibrant and colorful, it had just enough lace hanging down in her face, where you could barely see her eyes, with her long black jumpsuit swaying. It was the first holiday she didn’t get called a name or put down, yet she was apologizing all night to everyone as if she had. Her kids had a great time. They went door to door yelling trick or treat and collected more candy than she had ever seen. She was looking at the family’s walking together husband and wives’ hand in hand, and for a brief moment, she missed him. It was a late night of movies and laughter with Bailey and her kids. It’s not that she didn’t love this time with them it’s just she wasn’t used to it and was waiting for the shoe to drop. Waiting for her to say or do something wrong, which would lead to a long night of cussing and her being put down, but it never came Bailey never yelled, and she appreciated the silence. The next day her father showed up with some less than surprising news, her ex had been arrested. He had already gotten out on bond and was now messaging him, telling him he needed to speak to his wife.

It had been a month since she had last spoken to him, she cut off all forms of communication for their safety. She didn’t want to talk to him; hear his voice, hear his lies. Have him draw her back in. She asked her father to tell him no. He wouldn’t listen unless he heard it from her though, deep down she knew this already, it would have to be her to tell him she was done. She called him, her voice trembling until he answered the phone then all of a sudden, she was filled with fire and rage! How dare he make me call him she thought. As she let him have a piece of her mind, he couldn’t get one word in. She stood there with all the strength she could muster and told him every wrong thing he had said and done to her and her babies. She wanted a divorce, she was done. She had given her all, 13 years, and it wasn’t enough. She wouldn’t tolerate how he treated her kids or her anymore. She didn’t care about his sad excuses about being drunk and on drugs, and not remembering anything. She didn’t care about for better or worse anymore. She was tired, she just wanted her freedom. She yelled at him and told him to let her go! Then she hung her father’s phone up. As tears wailed up in her proud father’s eyes, he hugged her tight and told her that she would be alright, that her life was starting over at 33.