Three is a crowd: Things fall apart for David

(Continued from last issue)

David and Diane have been married for years; then there is Julie, the young secretary whose axis collides with the couple’s in ways none of them saw coming.

DIANE

“Are you mad! Why on earth would you do something so stupid!”

Tracy exclaimed, when I told her about my fight with David, and that I had asked for a divorce. We were sitting in our office at the back of the boutique with the door closed, but I still worried that one of the workers would hear her, from how loud she had been.

“Don’t shout,” I hushed her, then went on despondently.

“I have tried so hard for this marriage, and put up with so much, but I can’t have David put that w**re above me; that’s where I draw the line!”

“So, you have decided to let her win? Why did you put up with everything you say you have put up with, if at the end of the day, you were going to give up?”

“I’m only human, Tracy; I also have my limits,” I answered forlornly.

“Fine, if you want to give up, that’s your prerogative, after all, marriage is not a prison, but be smart about what point you are giving up at; now, when your husband is putting up such a massive investment, is not the time to walk away.

Think about it; if you go ahead with this divorce now, they will split the assets you have accumulated up to this point. Be smart; let him and his little girlfriend work for you; wait for the project to be finished, and if you still want to leave, leave then, when it will be counted as wealth acquired in the course of the marriage,” she argued, her tone hushed conspiringly.

“As usual, you’re right, but I just don’t know if I can do it.”

“Of course you can! Let’s be honest here, Diane; David has his flaws, but he’s not a monster, or the worst man there is out there. It’s not like you’re a battered woman, running away from an abusive marriage; it won’t kill you to wait for that project to be completed before you leave – if you still want to leave then, that is.”

I hated to admit it, but she made a valid point; my heart was broken and my pride bruised, but beyond that, David didn’t really present an actual threat to me. I could stay in this marriage, but the question now was, since David had been so ready to give me a divorce – could he?

JULIE

Although David spent the night, which was a novelty and a win in itself, despite my best efforts, his mood remained dark and pensive, and he left before the sun was up.

Furthermore, while I as usual sent him updates throughout the day about work and progress at the site, he only responded to those that called for his input, and even then, his answers were short, straight to the point, and lacked the warmth that our earlier texts had had.

It almost felt like he was angry at me, or like he blamed me for his wife asking for a divorce, and that was a scary and upsetting feeling. After everything she had put not just me, but him too through, one would have thought he would be relieved that she was finally willing to set us free, and yet, if anything, her demand appeared to drive him back to her, for at the end of the day, he came back to the apartment, stayed for dinner, and then announced that he was going back to the house!

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, after last night, maybe you need to give each other a bit of space,” I suggested cautiously.

“That’s my house, Julie, and apart from Diane, my kids live there too; so, no, I don’t need to give anyone space in my house!” he answered dryly.

“I know; I just meant that a bit of time….” “Julie, just drop it! I’m not going to be chased out of my own house to give anyone space, or time, or whatever you want to call it. I’m going home, and I’ll see you tomorrow,” he interrupted me, his tone firm and cold, and it felt like a slap in the face.

Rebuked, I fell silent and dropped my head to quickly blink back the tears I felt forming, only looking up again, when I was sure they were gone. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I answered quietly.

He sighed, ruffled Junior’s head affectionately, and then picking up his car keys, headed for the front door, without another word. I had never felt more insecure in our relationship than I did at that moment, and was sure I would not get much sleep that night.

DAVID

I had never been as emotionally drained as I was in the 24 hours after Diane asked for a divorce. Not only did I have to deal with the thought of our almost ten- year marriage coming to an end, which shook me more than I had ever believed possible – probably because I had never envisioned that happening in the first place – but I also had to deal with Julie picking that particular time, to suddenly become more clingy, than she ever had before.

I had always spent the night at the house with Diane and the children, and she had never had a problem with that before, but suddenly she began talking about the need for me to give Diane ‘space’ and ‘time’, which basically translated to mean I should stay at the apartment with her and Junior.

Until then, I had always thought I was in full control of both my marriage with Diane, and my relationship with Julie, and thought I could balance the two perfectly, and yet here I was, with both rapidly unravelling, and by the end of the next day, my stress levels were so high, I began considering taking some time off work, as I found I could not focus on that, with everything that was going on in my personal life.

And that was a new low for me, as I had never before let my personal life affect my professional one. Having insisted on returning to the house, despite Julie’s objections, I got there a little before nine, as the children were getting ready for bed.

Diane seemed surprised to see me, and sadly, so did the children, and it was their reaction that showed me that I had not managed to balance anything at all. The girls’ delighted yells of “Daddy’s home, daddy’s home”, like I had been gone for days, and Daniel’s look of pure surprise when I walked in, like I was the last person he had expected to see, hit me hard.

And as I tucked them into bed that night, I knew something had to give, and that I had to make changes – but what those changes were, and how I would make them, I was not so sure.

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