She did not think that it was a big deal that he had a blue collar job. He was obviously a good father - he had custody of his kids. And, actually, she thought it was great that he was so handy! On their third date, he had installed three ceiling fans in her house and FINALLY hooked up the damn automatic ice maker in the freezer!
"I'd like to see a pencil pusher do THAT!" she thought to herself.
It was good to have a man around for the boys. She would watch him play with the four little boys - his two and her two. And, it felt right.
They were married.
But, within a few years, the trouble began. When they met, she had not been out of grad school long. But, then she got a promotion and then a new job, and within those first years, her salary was double what hers - and his - had been in the beginning.
It caused trouble in their marriage. She was not the one that had the problem with it. She still respected him. But, he could not respect himself.
"I WORK for a living!" he would blurt out, out of the blue. "I don't sit around in an air conditioned office!"
He had always spanked the boys, and she had been alright with it. They were a boisterous mob, ages six through ten, and a spanking once in a while was fine. She had been spanked as a child.
But, now he started to get really rough with the kids. It was as though he were full of anger, and if one of the boys added one more drop to the bucket, he would overflow in a raging torrent.
In the end, she had to take the kids - all of them - and go.
I have prepared this for the Trifecta Writing Challenge! Click over and take a look - its a lot of fun, and a great bunch of people!
Very written & thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteGood trouble! Full of it in fact.... I love the details of the fans etc. wonder where this could go? I
DeleteI still have to write my own trouble. A hard one!
Hi Libby, You've won a copy of Shadows Walking by Douglas R. Skopp from Diary of an Eccentric. If you could email your mailing address to me at diaryofaneccentric(at)hotmail(dot)com no later than Thurs. May 17, that would be great!
ReplyDeleteOh cool! I'm on it...
DeleteOuch. It starts off sounding so idyllic, and then all starts to fall apart. A kind of trouble we can unfortunately all picture. Well told.
ReplyDeleteThanks...yea, it usually starts good. But, then...
DeleteThanks for coming by and commenting!
"I WORK for a living!" Gave me chills (even in the unairconditioned heat). Well done.
ReplyDeleteCause you can feel all the anger and resentment behind those words...
DeleteThanks for saying 'well done'!
great job libby, kinda tugged at my heart :(
ReplyDeleteAw..thanks Whirl!
DeleteThis story was so believable. It's sad when we let pride and jealousy ruin a good thing. I'm glad she had the courage to take the kids and go when she saw it wouldn't get better. Staying would have been a much sadder story.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good point! Staying would have been a sadder story.
DeleteI'm sitting here yelling (on the inside) RUN!!
ReplyDeleteGlad she was able to get out. More to the story?
Yea ;) There's more to the story...
DeleteOh how sad. How many marriages and men were ruined because of this reason? This is nicely written. :-)
ReplyDelete~Imelda
Thanks. Yea, you know of the seven deadly sins, I think envy is the worst. It makes you want to destroy the other person. Pride, sloth, lust...they are nothing compared to envy.
DeleteThere is a fine line between working together, and falling apart, this story bridges both. Nice job on the write!
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, November! I think this is exactly how things turn sour...
DeleteWell written piece. Makes me want to know more.
ReplyDeleteHmm...maybe I could do a continuing saga :)
DeleteI felt like I was climbing a ladder and then fell down from the top at the end, emotionally speaking.
ReplyDeleteThis was really well delivered prose. The pace was perfect.
Thanks, Lance! That's really nice of you :)
DeleteI felt so sad for those children, especially the two that were his to begin with. But I'm so glad she took them, too.
ReplyDeleteShe couldn't just leave them behind. You would have done the same thing.
DeleteSad. You never know what it takes to make a good man go bad.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up again. Please come back and join us for the new prompt tomorrow.
Thanks, Tri! :)
Delete