A particularly difficult divorce
The subsequent divorce was one of the most trying periods I have ever gone through.
However, I did not have the option of completely collapsing.
Seven children were still dependent on me.
So I had to keep moving forward, even on days when I didn’t feel like it. I had to be there for my sons while I myself tried to understand how my marriage and my relationship with my sister could have ended this way.
Then Daniel and Claire made a new announcement.
They were going to get married.
And they chose to announce their marriage on the very day our divorce became final.
When I found out, I almost fainted.
I didn’t understand how they could act as if everything that had just happened was of no importance.
My own parents sided with Claire
As if the situation wasn’t painful enough already, my parents also sided with my sister.
According to them, Claire also had the right to be happy.
For me, hearing that after everything that had happened added another wound to a situation that already seemed impossible to bear.
Then Claire and Daniel went even further: they invited my sons and me to their wedding.
They seemed to feel no embarrassment at the idea of asking us to attend the ceremony.
The wedding day
When the day came, I did not go to the wedding.
Neither do my sons.
We stayed home.
I settled down on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket, and we watched movies together.
I was doing everything I could to avoid thinking about the ceremony, about Daniel, about Claire, and about everything that day represented.
I simply wanted to spend this time with my children and try, for a few hours, not to let the pain take over completely.
That’s when my eldest son, Elliot, spoke up.
« Mom, we didn’t go to Dad’s wedding. But I’ve been preparing something for him all week. It’s already packed. I want an Uber driver to deliver the box. »
I looked at it, completely perplexed.
I had no idea why Elliot had decided to prepare a gift for his father and Claire.
But I also knew one thing: despite everything that had happened between Daniel and me, my sons might want to have a relationship with their father one day.
I didn’t want to be the one who prevented them from making that choice.
So I agreed to arrange for the delivery of the package.
See more on the next page
