Me: Noted.
I also make a mental note about how Tate treated the girls earlier when she walked them back to my mom’s house. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about them with me or complimented me on how cute and sweet they are.
Tate: Tilly’s always treated me like a daughter, and because of that, I’ve always thought of her as a mom.
That gives me hope that all isn’t lost. Maddox is at an important time in her development and needs a female in her life under the age of sixty. My mom does her best, but she grew up in a different era and has a hard time understanding what Maddox’s life is like.
Hell, I barely understand either.
Tate: Is your ex involved in their lives?
I swallow down the anger about what Katie’s done to our girls.
Me: Not really.
Tate: Shameful.
Me: That’s one word for her behavior.
Tate: When was the last time they saw her?
Me: A year ago. She came to town for a family funeral and visited the girls for one day.
Tate: It took a funeral for her to see her kids?
Me: Yep.
Tate: Awful.
Me: She’s that too.
Tate: Is she coming back soon?
Me: Nope.
Tate: I hate her.
Me: Same.
Tate: My mother fought so hard for her life, suffering because she wanted to be here for us. And your ex…she just walked out the door without a single thought about what it would do to her kids. How does a woman abandon them?
Me: She’s selfish, but she always was.
Tate: What happened? I know I’m being nosy, and you can totally tell me you don’t want to talk about it.
Me: She’d been having an affair at work for years without me knowing, and when he was transferred, she dropped the bomb on me that she was in love with someone else and going with him too.
Tate: Harsh.
Me: He has money, and that’s more important to her than anything else, including our kids.
Tate: She’ll be sorry someday.
Me: Probably not. She’ll be rolling in dough for the rest of her life, which wouldn’t have happened if she’d stayed here with us.
I do well for myself, but by no means am I well-off. My girls want for nothing and I have no debt, but I didn’t have the income to buy Katie designer clothes and extravagant jewelry.
I spend my days restoring classic cars and reselling them for a hefty profit. Sometimes I get lucky and find a rare gem for a steal and turn it for a mind-blowing amount of cash. But I never spend it all, knowing I’ll need money to send the girls to college someday, or God forbid, if the classic car market ever dries up.
