Page 23 of Due Process
I loved my boys; they were my everything. I worked so hard and did all of it for them.
A memory washed over me, completely unawares. Two separate occasions where my beautiful wife held a newborn baby in her arms and blessed me with our sons’ names—variations of my own.
As I cried with overwhelming joy, I managed to choke, “You named him after me?”
That was when my sweet girl repeated the same words I had given her so many years before, “After our love.”
My eyes began to burn as I blankly stared at my computer, the bright, colour-coded itinerary swallowing the entire screen.
Everything was set up and organised for the next week, right down to the tiniest detail. The night had to beperfect; we were celebrating a decade of marriage, after all.
Our upcoming anniversary had me infused with a new sense of hope. I held the full belief that with that celebration, we could finally make our way back to each other. And in turn, our family dynamic would thrive from the cascade effect.
All marriages went through difficult times, but it was how you weathered through those challenges that really mattered.
However, there remained one vital component that had to be taken care of. A monumental threat who held the potential to ripeverythingaway from me.
As if my passing thought conjured the demon herself, Heather swept into my office as if she belonged there.
Oh, hell no.“What the fuck are you doing?” I seethed. “Get out.”
Heather smiled before shutting the door behind her. “My calls and texts keep bouncing. What else am I to do? I’m desperate.” She approached with confidence that held the aftereffects of delusion. “You seem stressed, Bossman. Why don’t you let me—”
“Come any closer and see what happens.”
Heathertsked, then licked her lips. “You really want to play this game? I guess I do have an unfair advantage... Maybe I should discuss it with my direct superior. I’m sure she would be willing to hear me out.”
Panic seized every basic bodily function, my lungs burning from scraping aggressively against my rib cage.
I knew the conversation was overdue, yet it wrecked me all the same.
Deep breath.
“You and I both know this is over. There’s nothing else to discuss.”
“Oh, but there is…so muchto discuss.”
Heather stood proud and spoke with conviction. I knew what she wanted, and that I’d have no choice but to give it to her.
My eyes lapsed shut in defeat.
“How much do you want?” I whispered.
After dealing with that soul sucker, I refused to stay in the office another second.
My mindset was thrown off, and I had the urgent need to seek comfort and light. So, for the first time in years, I left work early on a Saturday.
But I couldn’t find my family anywhere.
My calls went unanswered, and the house was bereft of life. Troubled and impatient, I roamed the halls, looking for any clue as to where they could be.
I found the source in the room of my son, Eli’s.
Above his bed was a calendar, and in clear block letters scribbled over the current date read,FINALS.
Shifting words filtered through my mind as I snapped up my keys and sprinted to the car.
Do you want to come to my baseball game this weekend, Dad?... You should have seen me, Dad. I hit a home run! Everyone was screaming… Felix, honey, Eli has stopped asking, but I know he wants you there. Surely you can escape work for a couple of hours and watch your son play?
