The next day she invited her daughter to coffee. She asked her to come alone, without Emily which caught Sally off-guard. Like any other grandmother in the universe Martha loved seeing her “little Em” so asking Jim to keep her while they talked was beyond rare. Ironically, Jim, who adored his father-in-law had called Mike. They took Emily to her favorite park while the ladies met.
Mother and daughter sat on the patio of their favorite local barista “The Bean Counter” sipping their drinks. Once they had dispensed with the chit chat, they got down to it.
“What’s up Martha?” Sally could always tell when her mom was uneasy and calling her by her first name usually made her smile and put her at ease.
“Cute honey, can we please talk seriously for a few minutes?”
Sally smiled, “Of course mom, you just look like something heavy is on you, so I wanted to help you take a deep breath and dive in.”
“Thank you. I’ve been thinking long and hard about my life and choices. You and Jim calling me up short a few months ago hurt but didn’t jolt me enough to force me into self-reflection. I just thought your father had somehow won you over to his way of thinking. Upon taking serious time considering who I’ve become, I realized that I don’t like what I see looking back at me in the mirror.”
Sally was leaning forward listening carefully without responding.
Martha continued, “For whatever reason, I’m still not completely sure why, I felt I had the right to sleep with ‘Little Billy’ and Mike should just accept it. I convinced myself that if he truly loved me, he’d let me have some fun without any serious rebuke. Deep down, I knew he wasn’t that kind of man, but that just made me angry and more determined to have my way. I should have spoken with him about my temptation and feelings. I should have given him the chance to walk with me through the issues, but I didn’t. I just shut him out and went on my merry way.”
“When it blew up in my face, I quickly blamed him. I never thought about how it hurt him, I fixated on my wants, my rights, and my whims. I realize now I was immature and acting like a spoiled brat. The universe doesn’t revolve around me, and as a wife, I had responsibilities I ignored. I took vows before God, my family, and friends but I tossed those aside. I was petulant and childish. Once or twice, I had the fleeting thought I should admit my errors and beg for his forgiveness, but my pride never let me… No, that’s not right. That makes me sound like a victim. I chose to be stubborn and proud instead of keeping my promises to your father and our marriage.
“Worse, I somehow convinced you I was right, and he was wrong. I got you in my corner, not out of love or care, but out of selfishness. I wanted to bully him into letting me have my way. In the process, I destroyed my marriage, hurt an amazing man more deeply than anyone should ever be hurt, and almost upended your relationship with Jim.”
“I’m still processing, and have a long way to go, but Sally, I am beginning by asking for your forgiveness. I wronged you and Jim. I’ll ask for his as well when I talk to him, but this morning, I needed to look you in the eye, tell you what a fool I’ve been and ask you to forgive your idiot mother.”
The words were barely out of Martha’s mouth when Sally came across the table, spilling her coffee as she hugged her mother so hard, she almost cracked one of her ribs! She held her for a long moment, to the point other patrons were beginning to stare. She didn’t care. They both began to cry.
“Of course, I forgive you mom,” Sally stated emphatically, finally releasing the death grip and wiping tears from her eyes. “I’m sure we’ll need to talk more and work through the hurt in our relationship, but I’m so glad to hear your words!” They sat back down and continued to talk.
Two hours later Sally glanced at her phone. “Shit! It’s almost lunch time and I told Jim I’d be back before noon.” She quickly texted him and told him she’d be home in twenty minutes. He texted back telling her everything on the home front was fine and he’d see her soon.
As they were leaving Sally asked, “Mom, what about dad?”
“I have an idea about how to approach him Sally, but I’m still rolling it around in my head. I don’t expect him to take me back. As far as I know somebody’s probably latched onto him by now. But I need to clear the air and ask for his forgiveness as well. I want him to know how sincerely I regret what I’ve done. He may or may not forgive me, but I owe him the chance. Hell, I owe him so much more than that, but it will be a good place to start.”
Sally hugged her mom one more time before they left. “No mom, several have tried, but dad isn’t seeing anyone, and I seriously doubt he will anytime soon. Recently, Jim and I have encouraged him to go on a few dates, Lord knows, several local women have thrown themselves at him, but so far, nada on his part.”
Martha winced at the notion they had urged her ex to date, but of course, that was only natural. She knew it was her choices that led to this, so she had no right to be bothered that Sally and Jim wanted the best for Mike. Silently, she was also relieved to hear he hadn’t moved on with another woman.
Later that evening as Martha sat on her tiny apartment porch sipping wine, she began to devise a plan. If anyone had been there to read her face, they would have seen a range of emotions. At times, her brow was furrowed as she wrestled with challenges to her unfolding blueprint. At other moments there seemed to be a wickedly mischievous look in her eyes.
Later, thinking about Mike she pulled out her favorite toy and had two delicious orgasms, both times calling out, “fuck me Mike, fuck me you big cocked bastard!” She finally drifted off to sleep smiling and thinking, “maybe, just maybe.”
The next morning, Sunday, Mike was sitting at the kitchen table reading the WSJ and sipping coffee. He’d gone to early Mass and then worked out for a couple hours, finally showering. He was now trying to figure out what the hell the market was doing when the doorbell rang.
Mike was gob smacked to say the least. Standing before him in a light blue sundress that hung just above the knee was his ex-wife, Martha. The last time he saw her she had a look of hatred in her eyes. That had been almost a year ago when they bumped into each other at a charity event. Today she had her hair up in a ponytail and was wearing a modest amount of makeup that brought out the best features of her beautiful face.
That face! There was no look of anger or animosity. What was it? What is she thinking / feeling? In a second or two he landed on, “hopeful, maybe cautiously optimistic.”
Mike was a heck of a poker player, so while his mind was swirling, he kept it all inside. “Martha” was all he said in greeting.
“Hello Mike, I know I should have called and asked if I could stop by, but I was afraid you’d say no, so I just took my chances. Would you perhaps allow me to come in and speak with you for a few minutes?”
Mike may have been a good poker player, but he was also befuddled. “What could this be about? She doesn’t look angry.” He glanced down, she was wearing cute sandals and her toenails were painted in a light red. She still had a pretty good tan left over from the summer months. “Damn,” he thought, “Those fucking legs!”