Wednesday
My day started out like any other normal day. Taking the kids to school, spending the morning with my husband, Mr. Genius, working and picking kids back up. It was a beautiful day. One of our first really warm spring days. But then again almost everyday in Texas is a beautiful day. It was the kind of day that let you know warmer weather is here to stay. For all intents and purposes, it was a great day.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Genius asked me to stop by our new home site to help him decide where to hang the mirrors in the bathroom. We were just a couple months from moving in. We were building our dream home, a moment we had planned for over 24 years. We had two incredible kids and a crazy dog and a lazy cat. Life was going exactly as planned.
I am a work from home mom so my schedule is pretty flexible. It is a perk of the job that has allowed me freedom while my kids are still in school. I am grateful for my job and the people who make it possible.
That night, we ate at our favorite restaurant and talked to the kids at the table like any other dinner. Had I known it would be my last as the four of us, I would have surely taken the time to take it in instead of being caught up in the routine of the event.
That is the problem with divorce, sometimes you never see it coming.
And this day was most certainly not routine or like any other in our 24 years together. This was the day my husband, Mr. Genius, decided would be our last day as a couple.
After we arrived home from the restaurant, Mr. Genius asked them if they would like to go run an errand. Hadley readily said yes and Greyson said no due to the tests he needed to study for. I said goodbye to both, told them I loved them and went about my evening. Two hours later, Mr. Genius returned home without my daughter. I immediately became alarmed asking where she was. He calmly stated “She is at my friends house.” I remember looking at him as if he was an alien. He had walked out the door with our daughter my husband. Nothing odd or unusual but yet he returned this man with eerily calm confidence, like he had a secret that he just couldn't wait to share. It felt scary. I immediately asked if everything was ok. Only to be told it “was about to be”...
I had a knee jerk reaction that omg is he leaving me? But quickly dismissed it. We had not been in a fight. Things were not the best between us, there had been tension building the new home, but I never once thought we would get a divorce...at least not consciously. Something was wrong. His tone and body language portrayed a different man. One that felt alien. One that made me fearful for what was to come next. I felt panic and fear flow through my body because he would never leave Hadley at a friends. He would not have done that unless something was seriously wrong or he was planning on returning to her without me. Again, for the second time in my marriage I had a feeling he might be leaving. A terrible nagging feeling I couldn't shake. Attempting to keep Hadley would be the first dagger to my heart. The first of many to come.
Mr. Genius got our son, Greyson, and myself and sat us down at the kitchen table. He quickly threw down 3 checks and two stacks of cash. He said "I have closed our bank accounts and this is half the money. I filed for divorce today." Non emotional and rote. It was robotic. Like he had played this moment out in his head a 1,000 times before. Immediately Greyson started sobbing hysterically. Mr. Genius calmly and methodically told him “This is for you.” I tried to pick my jaw up off the table...the same table we had sat at for years prior enjoying our life as a family. How could you destroy a family and then tell our son..."This is for you." Did he want our son to be in therapy for the rest of his life?
Shock went through my body. I couldn't yell, I couldn't scream, I could barely get the words “please don't do this” out of my mouth. Everything was frozen. I felt this white hot sensation flowing through my body. I was going to be sick, but I had to convince him to stay. Did he hit his head? What was wrong with him?
Little did I know my world was about to implode. This was the warning shot. The emotional shock was crippling. I literally could not say anything except a crackling plea to not do this to our family as he hurriedly blew through the house grabbing his clothes and belongings. My son laid in his bed in the fetal position sobbing uncontrollably. Mr. Genius walked into his room and said “Son are you going with me?” My son was too emotionally shell shocked to answer. Mr. Genius left in a hurry. He had effectively split our children down the middle. Sadly this would be the mantra for the coming days. Abandoned in our home and clinging to each other, we barely knew what to do or say.
-Carrie
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