Page 56 of Take Care, Taylor

I blinked.

“Do you have any questions, Taylor?”

The weight of her words was still slowly settling in my mind.

“Where is Dad now?” I asked.

“Probably with his mistress.” She sipped from her coffee mug. “I mean, he’s probably out somewhere. Any other questions?”

“No.”

“Well, good.” She set down the cup and motioned for me to give her a hug. “That was a lot easier than I thought. You took it very well.”

Tears fell past her cheeks, and she covered her face with her hands.

Sobbing into my chest, she cried words I couldn’t quite comprehend. All I could do was hug her until she stopped shaking.

Later that night, when my mom had cried herself to sleep, I slipped into the backyard. Pacing, I tried to think of when my dad would’ve possibly had the time to be with someone else.

He was always working, always busy.

Unless he was always lying…

I pulled out my phone and called him. I needed to hear the truth from his mouth.

It rang once.

It rang twice.

“Hey there, son,” he answered, not sounding distraught at all. “You caught me on my first break.”

“Mom said you’re getting a divorce.” I didn’t want to waste time on small talk.

“She was supposed to wait until tomorrow.”

“Well, she didn’t,” I said. “What did you do?”

“Son, this isn’t something I want to talk about over the phone.”

“What. Did. You. Do?”

“Taylor, it’s complicated,” he said. “And I’d rather discuss how you’re feeling about this instead of why it’s happening.”

“Stop avoiding my question, Dad.” I refused to let him divert this conversation. “Did you really cheat on Mom?”

The line went silent for several seconds.

“I fell in love with someone else,” he said. “It’s hard to explain, but… she’s who I want to be with for the long term. Your mother and I have been together since high school, and it’s been more of a roommate-and-co-parenting situation than being in love for a while.

“I happened to meet someone who showed me what love really means, and that’s what I’ve been missing for years. That’s what I need.”

I said nothing.

“When you get older, I’ll be able to explain it better, but love is a super complicated thing and?—”

“Didn’t your marriage vows with Mom say you’d love her forever?”

“Yes, Taylor.”