Punished by Divorce

Good-Bye

Naomi

It was my mother that looked completely surprised by my declaration as she stared at me.

“What on earth do you mean by that, Naomi?” she questioned, and I sighed as I glanced between my mother and father.

“It means I’m leaving Crey,” I repeated. So far, this whole meeting was going exactly as I had thought it would. With the exception of the fact that my father had known about my divorce. I wasn’t about to ask any questions, because I honestly didn’t care. All I wanted was to leave.

“But surely you aren’t leaving Cidwood?” she urged, but I simply looked at her. “This is your home, Naomi. Why would you leave? Surely you could mend things with Erik,” my mother then looked over at my father, as if he should somehow back her up. My father didn’t say a word as he watched me.

“Mother, I want you to listen to me…Erik and I got married only because that is what you arranged. Erik and I were never…together…in that way. Ever. I barely saw him,” my mother immediately scoffed as she shook her head.

“Erik is a hard-working man, Naomi. As his wife, you cannot expect him to be home all the time. Look at how often your father left us to attend to business,” my mother reminded me. I took a deep breath because I knew that this wasn’t going to get any easier. My mother could be like a dog with a bone. Relentless.

“No, mother. Erik didn’t just leave me to attend to business. He didn’t even live with me,” it was then that I realized that the only ones who knew that – aside from Erik and myself – were Corey and Daniel. I had never confided in my mother. Probably because I knew she would tell me that it was meant to be that way. However, her facial expression told me she was surprised. Had they honestly thought I had been happily married?

“Excuse me?” my father said as his whole posture changed. “Who…who asked for the divorce, Naomi? You?” I somehow wasn’t at all surprised that he thought it was me. I was about to kick that thought right out the window.

“No, I was just living my life, and then I got the papers. I had dinner with Erik on my birthday, and we had a brief discussion about it, and then I had the meeting with his attorney…and now we are divorced,” I explained.

“Yes, but why? Why did he request a divorce, Naomi?” he asked, and I chuckled as I shook my head. It would seem that my father was just as relentless as my mother. The thing is, I just didn’t care, and I had a feeling they wouldn’t or couldn’t understand. And that was fine, I hadn’t expected them to be supportive.

“I don’t know, and I honestly don’t care. I’m free. I’m not tied down by marriage and I don’t have a responsibility to either of you,” I said as I moved backward, ready to leave as soon as possible. I had been here long enough, and I was already feeling suffocated.

“You don’t have a responsibility to us?” my mother echoed. I had known something like this would happen, so I mentally braced myself. “Do you think your father and I raised you without any stress? Without any responsibility? Do you think that you can just leave us here? Without any money? We are cut off from Billora, Naomi. Surely your divorce settlement can assist us,”

“Divorce settlement?” I questioned as I took another step back. “You,” I pointed at my father. “Made sure that Erik and I signed some sort of contract. He owes me nothing. We don’t have any children together, so there isn’t any child support. I’m young enough that I can find a job,” I decided not to tell them about the money Erik had gifted me. I had a feeling they would want it. All of it. “And I get it, you raised me. You fed me, you clothed me, and I paid my dues by marrying Erik. Do you understand? I don’t owe you anything and, as much as I don’t want you to suffer or struggle…I just…I can't stay here and continue to live my life according to what everyone else wants,”

“Where are you going?” my father asked curiously, but I shook my head. I knew exactly where I was going. I had my plans all laid out, but I wasn’t going to tell them. I wasn’t a fool.

“You could always move in here, darling,” my mother said sweetly, and it was enough to make me gag.

“Again, Naomi, where are you going?” my father asked again, this time his voice was firm and demanding. He wanted an answer. One that I wasn’t going to give him. It was time to leave.

“I don’t know yet, but I’m leaving. The road will take me wherever it takes me,” I took one last step backward, and I was then officially out of the room. “I only came here to say goodbye…so, goodbye,” I didn’t wait for them to say anything as I turned around and literally ran down the stairs and out the door. I was in my car at lightning speed, and I was backing out of the parking space as quickly as legally possible. My phone was ringing but I didn’t care. I had to get out. I had to leave. I loved my parents, but they had manipulated me my whole life. It was time for me to live for myself. I didn’t have any friends, except for Corey and Daniel and I had already said goodbye to them. I breathed in deeply as I headed for the highway that would lead me out of Cidwood. I couldn’t believe that this was finally happening. I smiled as I got onto the highway. Goodbye Cidwood, and hello world!