A second chance at true love

Chapter 4 - So naïve. So cliché.

.Meredith.

.5 years ago.

“Sorry Mom, that you had to pick us up,” Miles sighs as he gets in the car.

“It’s okay sweetie. I’m glad you called me,” I tell him. It was not a good time, I was working, but it’s okay. That’s the advantage of working for my brother, I can kind of go when I need to. When Miles called that their father hadn’t come, so they were all still waiting at school, I was able to leave quickly.

He and Melissa are in Middle school, Mallory, Marley, and Megan are still in elementary school and my youngest of four Madison, has just started kindergarten.

That was why, in consultation with Maxwell, my husband, I went to work one day a week. He would pick up the children that day. He hasn’t managed that once so far from the eight times he’s had to do it. I don’t know why I’m still trying, maybe this isn’t for me. Maybe I should accept that I’m a mother of six children and nothing more.

But in my dream, I have a big family and I can work, I don’t want to give up on that dream yet. Maybe this is Max’s way of making it clear how much he is against this plan. He didn’t want me to go to work, ever.

He was very clear about that when we met.

I really wanted to finish my studies, but he thought that was ridiculous because I didn’t need it anyway according to him. Because if I married him, he would take care of me. He would take care of the money and I would take care of the family. I should have been paying more attention back then.

With a little conviction from my father and Max’s father, I was able to complete my studies almost completely before the birth of Miles. I was forced to stop to give birth and then quickly picked it up again.

But after Miles, Melissa came in quick succession. Then I took a moment to finish my training as a business lawyer before a third child was on the way. I wanted to work for my father, just like my brother in their law firm DeKeyser. But with two young children and pregnant with a third, that was difficult. Occasionally my brother would send me documents that I would look at for him when the children were in bed and Max wasn’t home yet.

“Can you check where Daddy is now?” I ask Miles and I hand him my phone. The other children sit in the back and talk about their day with each other, as always.

“He’s in the apartment in town I guess.” Miles holds the phone up and indeed the dot is at the address in our apartment in the city. I bite my cheek, a habit I can’t get rid of. Why would he be there? He said he would be working in the office today.

I take the first exit and turn the car to go to the apartment.

“Do you want to go get Dad?” I ask Miles, I tried to call Maxwell, but he didn’t answer. Before I can give Miles the key, he’s out of the car and at the door. The doorman recognizes him and lets him in as he waves at me.

In the meantime, I give the children all a drink and their snacks. Before I have everyone out of the car, upstairs, and if Max is still talking, I’d rather have him come downstairs.

Miles comes running back. “Mom, I heard him inside but he didn’t open the door,” He replies.

I turn off the car. “Wait here Miles and watch over your sisters.”

A bad feeling creeps up on me. I can’t explain it, but sometimes, just sometimes, as a woman, you know when it’s not right.

I walk in and greet the doorman and head to the elevator.

The top floor.

This is where our relationship started. Our first night together, the first pregnancy test. Then Maxwell bought a house in a Dallas suburb.

I take the key out of my bag and go inside. I hear a woman laughing and I walk faster to the sound.

“Oh Maxwell, it’s beautiful!” I hear her voice.

“Everything for you sweetheart, you know that.”

I’m stiffened on the floor. What?

“Does your wife already know?” she asks.

“No, sweetheart, I’m not going that fast these days,” He replies.

His voice is softer than the voice he uses for me, but I know the voice. Once upon a time, that voice was for me, too.

The woman sighs. “You promised me, Maxwell, you’ve been telling me for months that you’re leaving her and that you want to move on with me. She can’t possibly give you what I give you.”

I want to continue walking and stop the conversation, but I stop and feel my heart break when I hear Maxwell laugh. “No sweetheart, she’s nothing compared to you.”

That’s it! Anger coursing through my veins and I push the door open. There, naked, they lie together on the couch. On the couch where we lay fifteen years ago. I was only eighteen and I hung on his lips with every word he spoke.

Maxwell is ten years older than I am. Finished his studies, and started his own business.

My parents didn’t like it, as a girl of eighteen with a man of twenty-eight. But I fell for him, hard. He promised that girl the world. He promised that girl loyalty and a happily ever after.

“What is this?” I snap as I walk into the room. The woman shoots up and grabs a blanket to cover herself. Maxwell looks up in shock.

“Sweetheart, oh God, this is not what it seems!”

“Oh, it’s not?” not only me but also the woman next to him answers. I roll my eyes at her in frustration. She looks away from me. b***h.

“Maxwell!” she exclaims in frustration as he tries to put his pants on.

“Never mind Max, I’ve already picked up the kids. I think it would be better if you stayed here tonight. Have fun with him, Mindy.” I call out to his newest assistant. The blonde b***h with her fake t**s and her way too thin body.

That’s all I can say without a tear running down my cheek. A lump in my throat. Nauseous with anger.

He still wants to stop me but I can’t lose myself. Not now. Six children are waiting for me in the car.

I turn around and bump into Miles and Melissa.

“Oh God!” I grab both by their shoulders and we walk out of the apartment.

“I told you to stay in the car,” I tell both sternly. Immediately I regret my tone towards my children. This is not their fault.

“Sorry, but you took a long time,” Answers Melissa. Her hand finds mine and she squeezes gently.

“Where’s the rest?” I ask. Thinking of my little ones in the car, I walk faster.

“We took them out, they play inside,” Melissa tells me.

Every once in a while I look at Miles, he has a constant frown on his face.

Downstairs, all my little ones are playing with each other in the central hall. I thank the doorman and pick up Madison,

“Come on guys, we’re going home. We ask Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Brian if they come over and then we start the weekend,” I tell them. The youngest cheer when they hear Grandpa and Grandma.

I do my best not to cry and hide my face when I’m holding Madison, but I’ve never had such a hard time. I always thought this would happen to others. Not us.

Maxwell still brings me a big bouquet of flowers every three weeks, We go on vacation three times a year, we take time for each other, go out to dinner together. I don’t understand.

Did I miss the signals?

Yes, I’m not the woman he married anymore. We have six kids together, but despite that, I’m in pretty good shape. Not consciously, but constantly running everywhere, and being busy does that, at least with me.

It’s so cliché, so bad that it’s almost embarrassing and it also immediately reminds me, did he do this with the previous one too? Of course, he did this with the previous one too. Why would he only do Mindy?

At home, my mother is already waiting for us and she immediately comes running to the car.

“What’s wrong?”

I shake my head. She stops asking and opens the door behind me. “Madison, sweetie, come here.” She opens her arms to the youngest who immediately starts to go wild to get out of her seat.

“Grandma!!” It’s not just Madison who starts shouting.

Once inside, the children go to play and we wait for my father and my brother. My mother constantly wants to ask something, I know. So I make sure there are always children around me.

“Grandpa is coming, he brought pizza and fries,” shouts Grandma and my kids start cheering.

I put my phone on silent because it drives me crazy that Maxwell keeps calling me. My mother saw it too. She wanted to answer once, but I snatched the phone from her hands and put it away before she had a chance.

When I hear the front door open, I frown. My dad and Brain don’t have a key.

“Max.” I breathe and storm to the door.

Hopefully, in time to stop him from coming into the living room and this will be a big fiasco, which the children are witnessing.

There in the hallway, he stands with a large bouquet.