Page 2
Story: Eight Years, No Us
That night, my daughter and I sat at the table and waited for him.
There were a lot of dishes on the table that Albert enjoyed. She knew everything of her secret CEO father’s likes and dislikes by heart, even though she couldn’t call him “Daddy.”
She stood at the entrance and waited. Then they sat. Then they waited again.
At 11:50 p.m., she finally came over. Her eyes were dark, and her small body looked flat.
I called Albert over and over again. I sent texts until my fingertips hurt.
No answer.
I knew he wasn’t going to come.
“Mommy,” she murmured softly, trying to seem grown up, “Daddy must be really busy. Let’s not wait any longer.”
She was trying to be understanding, but she was still really disappointed.
I held her close and forced back my anguish. “How about we wait a little longer?”
She shook her head. She was done waiting.
I kissed her cheek for a long time.
I’d give her all of my affection if she couldn’t feel her father’s.
So I spent her birthday alone with her.
She bowed her head in the candlelight and made a wish.
I didn’t enquire what it was. But I knew she wanted her father to love her.
We didn’t talk about Albert again that night.
I pulled up my phone and looked through Instagram, which I do all the time.
There it was, Tania’s latest post.
[It’s my birthday today. I got the best present.
The picture featured a man on one knee with flowers and a ring in his hand.
I couldn’t see all of his face, but I knew it was Albert.
And the band… He had made it in France as a custom piece. I had told him I liked it before and asked if I could have it. He said no.
He had given it to the woman he loved. A proposition, for sure.
Tania was his real wife.
His daughter and Tania were born on the same day. He still opted to stay with the lady he loved, though, leaving his daughter behind.
At that point, all of my optimism for him was gone.
Pain stabbed me in the chest over and over.
I pushed my fists tight on my heart to attempt to calm it down and breathe.
That agony took a long time to go away.
I took Tania out of my contacts.
The sound of the front door awakened me up the next morning.
I took the divorce papers I had made and went downstairs.
Albert was standing by the dining table, looking at the leftover cake.
My heart felt tranquil, but not in a normal way.
He looked up as he heard my footsteps. “I forgot because I worked too late last night.”
I laughed in a cold, empty way.
I had called him. Sent him a lot of texts. He didn’t hear? Didn’t see?
No. He was just too busy with another woman. You could ignore everything else.
I turned the divorce papers over to the last page, lay them flat on the table and pointed to the line where the signature should go. “Put your name on it.”
Albert was going to read the document when his phone rang.
Tania’s voice, which was full of panic, came through the speaker. “Albert, my stomach hurts. Can you please come get me? I’m really scared.”
He said right away, “I’ll be right there.”
He calmed her down, didn’t look back at the page, grabbed up the pen, quickly signed his name, and then left without saying anything further.
I watched him go away and laughed quietly and coldly.
“Well, this is how it ends.” This family, this house, are finally gone.
Albert sent a message that afternoon. He had a courier bring our daughter’s birthday gift.
I froze as I opened the box. It was a doll of Barbie.
I took our daughter with me to a work retreat last year.
Tania took her inside a spooky house without my knowing. She cried hysterically because actors disguised as creepy Barbie dolls had scared her so much.
Tania, who was angry, left her there alone in the dark for an hour.
Before we eventually found her, we searched the whole place. She had passed out because she was so scared.
When she woke up, she told us with shaking lips that Tania had deserted her on purpose.
Tania said no right away. Albert, of course, was there next to her, telling our daughter to “Don’t imagine things.”
Since then, just seeing a Barbie gave her bad dreams.
And now he sends her this for her birthday.
How silly. What a silly reason to be a dad.
I thought about secretly changing the gift, but my daughter had already seen it, so it was too late.
Albert announced out of the blue one night when he got home, “I’m going to have Tania move in for a while.”
He spoke in a casual way, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
“We’re still keeping our marriage a secret. I don’t want her to know about us. You and the kid should move out for a while and stay away from each other.”
I asked, “So you’re kicking us out just so you can play house with her?”
Albert frowned, which was an obvious sign that he was angry. “Don’t twist what I said. This is only for a short time. We can’t make this marriage public because you don’t have the status for that.”
I didn’t say anything; I just laughed softly, without any joy.
That’s how he saw us, my kid and myself. A secret shame. A weight.
The rage I felt didn’t even let me argue.
I was just exhausted. So sleepy.
There were a lot of dishes on the table that Albert enjoyed. She knew everything of her secret CEO father’s likes and dislikes by heart, even though she couldn’t call him “Daddy.”
She stood at the entrance and waited. Then they sat. Then they waited again.
At 11:50 p.m., she finally came over. Her eyes were dark, and her small body looked flat.
I called Albert over and over again. I sent texts until my fingertips hurt.
No answer.
I knew he wasn’t going to come.
“Mommy,” she murmured softly, trying to seem grown up, “Daddy must be really busy. Let’s not wait any longer.”
She was trying to be understanding, but she was still really disappointed.
I held her close and forced back my anguish. “How about we wait a little longer?”
She shook her head. She was done waiting.
I kissed her cheek for a long time.
I’d give her all of my affection if she couldn’t feel her father’s.
So I spent her birthday alone with her.
She bowed her head in the candlelight and made a wish.
I didn’t enquire what it was. But I knew she wanted her father to love her.
We didn’t talk about Albert again that night.
I pulled up my phone and looked through Instagram, which I do all the time.
There it was, Tania’s latest post.
[It’s my birthday today. I got the best present.
The picture featured a man on one knee with flowers and a ring in his hand.
I couldn’t see all of his face, but I knew it was Albert.
And the band… He had made it in France as a custom piece. I had told him I liked it before and asked if I could have it. He said no.
He had given it to the woman he loved. A proposition, for sure.
Tania was his real wife.
His daughter and Tania were born on the same day. He still opted to stay with the lady he loved, though, leaving his daughter behind.
At that point, all of my optimism for him was gone.
Pain stabbed me in the chest over and over.
I pushed my fists tight on my heart to attempt to calm it down and breathe.
That agony took a long time to go away.
I took Tania out of my contacts.
The sound of the front door awakened me up the next morning.
I took the divorce papers I had made and went downstairs.
Albert was standing by the dining table, looking at the leftover cake.
My heart felt tranquil, but not in a normal way.
He looked up as he heard my footsteps. “I forgot because I worked too late last night.”
I laughed in a cold, empty way.
I had called him. Sent him a lot of texts. He didn’t hear? Didn’t see?
No. He was just too busy with another woman. You could ignore everything else.
I turned the divorce papers over to the last page, lay them flat on the table and pointed to the line where the signature should go. “Put your name on it.”
Albert was going to read the document when his phone rang.
Tania’s voice, which was full of panic, came through the speaker. “Albert, my stomach hurts. Can you please come get me? I’m really scared.”
He said right away, “I’ll be right there.”
He calmed her down, didn’t look back at the page, grabbed up the pen, quickly signed his name, and then left without saying anything further.
I watched him go away and laughed quietly and coldly.
“Well, this is how it ends.” This family, this house, are finally gone.
Albert sent a message that afternoon. He had a courier bring our daughter’s birthday gift.
I froze as I opened the box. It was a doll of Barbie.
I took our daughter with me to a work retreat last year.
Tania took her inside a spooky house without my knowing. She cried hysterically because actors disguised as creepy Barbie dolls had scared her so much.
Tania, who was angry, left her there alone in the dark for an hour.
Before we eventually found her, we searched the whole place. She had passed out because she was so scared.
When she woke up, she told us with shaking lips that Tania had deserted her on purpose.
Tania said no right away. Albert, of course, was there next to her, telling our daughter to “Don’t imagine things.”
Since then, just seeing a Barbie gave her bad dreams.
And now he sends her this for her birthday.
How silly. What a silly reason to be a dad.
I thought about secretly changing the gift, but my daughter had already seen it, so it was too late.
Albert announced out of the blue one night when he got home, “I’m going to have Tania move in for a while.”
He spoke in a casual way, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
“We’re still keeping our marriage a secret. I don’t want her to know about us. You and the kid should move out for a while and stay away from each other.”
I asked, “So you’re kicking us out just so you can play house with her?”
Albert frowned, which was an obvious sign that he was angry. “Don’t twist what I said. This is only for a short time. We can’t make this marriage public because you don’t have the status for that.”
I didn’t say anything; I just laughed softly, without any joy.
That’s how he saw us, my kid and myself. A secret shame. A weight.
The rage I felt didn’t even let me argue.
I was just exhausted. So sleepy.