ceiling. I need to sit down. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed her mother as she walked toward the parlor.
“I received paperwork from Brad today, he wants everything. Wait until he hears I inherited property from Grandma, he’ll probably want half of that too.”
“Lily, he doesn’t have a chance of taking your inherited property. He is just bluffing to force you to come back.”
“I don’t know why he would want me back. Probably he doesn’t want to part with any of his possessions, including me.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been there more for you these last years.”
“It’s alright Mom, I was pretty distant myself.”
“When you married Brad, the irony of all my choices and where they led us hit me hard. I didn’t want you to make the same mistakes I did.”
Lily laughed. “The joke, I think, was on both of us. Here, all this time I thought you were proud of me marrying a man like Brad. I was afraid to tell you what my life with him was really like. I thought you would blame me.”
“Never, Lily. It takes a lot of guts to walk out on a marriage that provides financial security and looks so perfect from the outside.”
“I wish I could take credit for walking out on my own volition before all the ugly lies were rubbed in my face.” The text messages, the pictures, how could she tell her mother? “He cheated on me. I found out and he didn’t even care.”
The only sound was the hum of the furnace.
“Don’t look back, Lily. You did your best to hold a marriage together, certainly. I understand that.”
Her mother’s words hit deep. As a child, Lily had resented Katherine ripping her away from her home and her grandmother, but now she understood what it was like to be in an abusive marriage. Her mother took them away to start a new life. “I love you, Mom. Thanks for being here. I know it hasn’t always been easy for you, either.”
“It’s going to be all right,” Katherine said. “He can threaten all he wants. I found a good divorce attorney who will see us right away. When can you come down?”
“Go ahead and make an appointment. The sooner the better.”
“Can you be ready to fly out Monday morning Lily?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good,” Katherine said. “I will take care of the flight arrangements and email you a confirmation. I’ll see you at LAX.”
The kindness of her mother’s act reminded her she was not alone. “Thanks, Mom. It’s not just about just the money anymore. For once, I’m fighting for me.”
✦✦✦✦
After the morning mail, weeding was proving to be very therapeutic. Lily pulled out a tall weed, roots soaked in mud, and tossed it in a bucket. From behind the hedge that led up from the sisters’ cottage, she heard a low whistle. A woman appeared, dressed for a magazine shoot with a perfectly matched teal-blue pantsuit and shoe combination, white camel coat, silk scarf, and a double strand of pearls peaking over the collar of her blouse. The golden haired, perfectly coiffed, and made up woman looked to be around 80. She was startlingly out of place in this rustic setting. Shirley, Lily surmised with a smile. Lily waved and watched the woman precariously balancing a basket as she stepped over the mud puddles and onto the steppingstones leading up through the dormant garden to Lily’s house. She reminded Lily of a regal mother lion.
Lily wiped her hands on her jeans. “Hello,” she called out as she walked down the hill to greet the woman. “You must be Shirley. I’ve already heard so much about you.”
“Nothing good, would be my bet!” Shirley said with a hearty laugh. “Here, take this darn basket I brought you before I drop it all out on the ground.”
Lily took the wicker basket and peered in. It looked like enough food for a family of ten. “Why, thank you, Shirley. People sure are nice around here.”
“Well, some of us are anyway,” she said glancing back at her cottage.
Lily led the way back to the house,
“I received paperwork from Brad today, he wants everything. Wait until he hears I inherited property from Grandma, he’ll probably want half of that too.”
“Lily, he doesn’t have a chance of taking your inherited property. He is just bluffing to force you to come back.”
“I don’t know why he would want me back. Probably he doesn’t want to part with any of his possessions, including me.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been there more for you these last years.”
“It’s alright Mom, I was pretty distant myself.”
“When you married Brad, the irony of all my choices and where they led us hit me hard. I didn’t want you to make the same mistakes I did.”
Lily laughed. “The joke, I think, was on both of us. Here, all this time I thought you were proud of me marrying a man like Brad. I was afraid to tell you what my life with him was really like. I thought you would blame me.”
“Never, Lily. It takes a lot of guts to walk out on a marriage that provides financial security and looks so perfect from the outside.”
“I wish I could take credit for walking out on my own volition before all the ugly lies were rubbed in my face.” The text messages, the pictures, how could she tell her mother? “He cheated on me. I found out and he didn’t even care.”
The only sound was the hum of the furnace.
“Don’t look back, Lily. You did your best to hold a marriage together, certainly. I understand that.”
Her mother’s words hit deep. As a child, Lily had resented Katherine ripping her away from her home and her grandmother, but now she understood what it was like to be in an abusive marriage. Her mother took them away to start a new life. “I love you, Mom. Thanks for being here. I know it hasn’t always been easy for you, either.”
“It’s going to be all right,” Katherine said. “He can threaten all he wants. I found a good divorce attorney who will see us right away. When can you come down?”
“Go ahead and make an appointment. The sooner the better.”
“Can you be ready to fly out Monday morning Lily?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good,” Katherine said. “I will take care of the flight arrangements and email you a confirmation. I’ll see you at LAX.”
The kindness of her mother’s act reminded her she was not alone. “Thanks, Mom. It’s not just about just the money anymore. For once, I’m fighting for me.”
✦✦✦✦
After the morning mail, weeding was proving to be very therapeutic. Lily pulled out a tall weed, roots soaked in mud, and tossed it in a bucket. From behind the hedge that led up from the sisters’ cottage, she heard a low whistle. A woman appeared, dressed for a magazine shoot with a perfectly matched teal-blue pantsuit and shoe combination, white camel coat, silk scarf, and a double strand of pearls peaking over the collar of her blouse. The golden haired, perfectly coiffed, and made up woman looked to be around 80. She was startlingly out of place in this rustic setting. Shirley, Lily surmised with a smile. Lily waved and watched the woman precariously balancing a basket as she stepped over the mud puddles and onto the steppingstones leading up through the dormant garden to Lily’s house. She reminded Lily of a regal mother lion.
Lily wiped her hands on her jeans. “Hello,” she called out as she walked down the hill to greet the woman. “You must be Shirley. I’ve already heard so much about you.”
“Nothing good, would be my bet!” Shirley said with a hearty laugh. “Here, take this darn basket I brought you before I drop it all out on the ground.”
Lily took the wicker basket and peered in. It looked like enough food for a family of ten. “Why, thank you, Shirley. People sure are nice around here.”
“Well, some of us are anyway,” she said glancing back at her cottage.
Lily led the way back to the house,
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