All The Broken Pieces Novel – I was completely blindsided by my divorce and my husband’s betrayal. One day, my husband, Josh, just said, “I don’t love you anymore. I’ve fallen for someone else.” I was shocked and asked, “How could you do this to me? How long has this been going on?” He admitted he’d been having an affair with his subordinate, Jennifer Cartwright, for nine months. He made it all public on Facebook, leaving me humiliated. After the divorce, he still came to tell me about his upcoming wedding to Jennifer and that she was pregnant. I shouted, “Why are you telling me this? I don’t want to hear it!” But he insisted, “We have to talk about it.” I was heartbroken and betrayed. I didn’t want to hear anything more from him and I wanted to move on!
One stray sock and a toothbrush. That’s all that remained of Ellison’s ex-husband. The furniture, sheets, and paintings were new. The townhouse, too. She hadn’t wanted the divorce – didn’t see it coming – but it was there lurking, waiting for her to let her guard down. And when she felt comfortable in her life, with the comings and goings of her husband, with the money and the children, he declared he no longer loved her and had fallen in love with someone else. Someone else. Not her. The thought still left her breathless, but she no longer curled into a sobbing ball. The demise of her marriage wasn’t a series of mini-announcements the way many of her friends’ divorces had been. There was no arguing over housework or finances. There was intercourse, albeit a bit mundane, but she made an effort to sleep with her husband at least three nights a week.
She worked out regularly and kept her weight down. Botox was a close friend. She was attentive and interested in his work. She kept a neat house and made dinner more often than not. All this, and she had been a kick-a-s real estate agent in between raising her kids and caring for her husband. No. Ellison did everything right, or so she thought. A sock and a toothbrush. With a swift movement, Ellison gathered the offensive objects and tossed them in the garbage. Then, she picked up her cell phone and called the first person she thought of, her best friend Andrea. “Hello?” Ellison shifted the phone to hear better. “Hey, Andi, it’s me.” “Ellison! I was just thinking of you. What’s up?” Andi had a way of speaking fast and running her words together, so if you didn’t listen closely, she was nearly incomprehensible. “Drinks tonight?
Josh is picking up the kids, and Mom needs a night out.” Since the divorce, Ellison had taken to drinking bottles of wine at home alone after the boys went to bed. But even she knew that kind of behavior was pathetic. “Sure. What time?” Andi was always ready for something. Having never married nor having had kids, it made her the perfect partner in crime – that is, when she was in town. Ellison tucked a piece of her shoulder-length, ash blond hair behind her ear. “Seven-thirty?” “Perfect. I say we try out the new bar. What’s it called?” Andi rattled. “Whiskey Blu.” “Right. I’ll pick you up, okay?” Ellison nodded before answering. “So I can get sloshed?” “So you can have fun!” Fun. What is that? Ellison thought before saying, “Okay, see you at seven-thirty.” After hanging up, she glanced at the time. Five-eighteen. Josh was late picking up the boys.
As usual. “Mom?” Dash yelled up the stairs. At ten years old, he was already as tall as her. But he looked like a mini-Josh: tan skin, brown eyes, brown hair. “When’s Dad getting here?” “Soon,” she yelled back, having no idea. When the judge ordered joint custody of the boys, she hadn’t understood how hard it would be sharing them. That and the gossip that went with it. In a small town like Waterford, everyone knew everyone else’s business. Didn’t help that Josh put it up on Facebook the day he left. Status update: Josh Brooks is single. Followed shortly by: Status update: Josh Brooks is in a relationship with Jennifer Cartwright. The messages and questions began pouring in almost instantly, and her humiliation was complete.
Everyone in Waterford knew she’d been cheated on and tossed away. There was nowhere she could hide, except maybe somewhere new. So that day, she started looking for a new house, in another small town not too far away. It distracted her from the reality of what was happening. That Josh had been having an affair with his work subordinate for nine months. That he really was leaving her. How did she never pick up on it? Well, that was the easy part. His mistress traveled with him on business, and Ellison was too trusting. Her Josh would never stray. He was the ideal husband and a great dad, for the most part. They’d been together since college and had basically grown into adulthood together. But somehow, the judge declared her cheating husband an equally-fit parent, even though throughout their marriage, all he’d done is play the role of “Big Kid,” while she handled all the administrative stuff like homework, dentist appointments, and discipline.
The divorce had only been final for a month, and to be honest, Ellison was still spinning. Cheating on your spouse, it seemed, didn’t really matter to the courts. Or anyone else. How many girlfriends told her it was no big deal, everyone does it? How many times did she listen to her mom tell her she didn’t try hard enough? That her marriage failure was her fault? Well, here she was now. Newly-divorced, mom to two rambunctious boys, and sexless for months. Not a good place to be. Even her vibrators remained packed away. She couldn’t bring herself to use them, knowing how much Josh used to enjoy the show. Ellison walked into the bathroom and swiped on some lipstick before running her fingers through her hair. Tousling it in a s-xy bedhead way. There was no point in letting Josh see her look frumpy. In fact, she hoped he saw her and wanted her.
When will that go away? The doorbell sounded with a tinny dong, and the boys were at the door before Ellison made it halfway down the stairs. She paused on the landing, where Josh could see her, knowing the window behind her backlit her nicely. “Hey, Ellison,” her ex-husband said in his slow, drawn-out way. To think she once found his southern accent s-xy. He didn’t apologize for being late. “Hi.” He ruffled the boys’ heads. “Why don’t you two run out to the truck?” Dash and Alex needed no further instruction. They left without so much as a good-bye. “Love you!” Ellison called after them and finished her descent down the stairs. One foot in front of the other. Steady. Don’t let Josh see you as weak. Josh didn’t move from the doorway. “I need to talk to you. About the wedding.” “I don’t have time for this now. I need to get ready. I’m going out.” Ellison stood with her hands on her hips, trying to seem firm. “C’mon, Elle.” She cringed at the use of her nickname, but Josh either didn’t care or notice. “We’re going to have to discuss it at some point.” “I have plans, and you’re going to make me late.”
She prayed it sounded like she had a date. Josh persisted. “The wedding is in two weeks.” Vomit sat in the back of Ellison’s throat, wanting to spew out all over her ex-husband. “Your wedding is not my concern. Your love life means nothing to me.” It was lies, lies she told herself over-and-over again. Of course, she cared that her Josh, the man she’d been married to for fourteen years, chose a woman five years younger. It hurt. Strike that. It burned. At thirty-eight, she felt washed up and discarded. “I want the boys there, but it’s your weekend.” “I know. We can work something out. Just not now.” Josh gave her one of his looks, the kind that she’d grown to know too well over the years. He was going to devastate her again. She held up her hands as if to stop what was coming next. It didn’t work. “Jenn is pregnant.” Whoosh. Gut kick. Breathe, Ellison, breathe.
“How nice,” she squeaked before turning away and closing the door on Josh. “Ellison!” Josh hammered the door with his fist. “We have to talk.” No, no we don’t. It took all her strength to pull herself to the staircase. Tears rolled down her smooth cheeks as she balled into her defeated position. Why did Josh have to do these things? Why tell her now? Couldn’t he at least let her have one night out without ruining it? No, of course not. He was selfish, as evident from the affair to his wedding requests. And right now, it seemed like he existed only to make her life he-l. What is my life? she thought as she willed herself back upstairs to her bedroom and stripped off her clothes. She cranked up the shower, allowing it to get steamy before entering.
Her tense muscles relaxed as she massaged her neck and shoulders. Once upon a time Josh would have done this for her, but he– Stop it, Ellison. Stop giving Josh so much power over you. Maybe what she needed was a one-night stand. Andi had mentioned it before, but Ellison dismissed it. Partly because she was a mom, and partly because who would want to be with a hot mess like her? Still, she made sure to shave all the possibly important parts and lotioned her legs. She left the towel wrapped around her head as she stood in her closet undressed, not knowing what to wear. Ellison ran her fingers on the row of dresses before her. She felt like wearing purple. Josh always said it brought out the green in her hazel eyes, and that made her feel pretty. To think she’ll never hear him say it again almost drove Ellison to tears, but she blinked them away. “Josh,” she said reciting her new favorite motto while grabbing skinny jeans and a loose, olive green blouse.
Andi arrived exactly on time, just like she always did. She was never one minute early or late. Always exactly punctual, which to be honest, drove Ellison nuts sometimes. “Whoa. Have you been crying?” Andi asked when Ellison opened the door. “He knocked her up.” Andi let out a low whistle before laughing. “Guess who’s going to be all bloated and pukey during her wedding?” That was exactly what Ellison needed to hear, and she grinned. “And how will she make it through all those nights without alcohol when he’s traveling?” Ellison had heard Jenn had quit her job. Presumably because of the work conflict, but most likely because she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. Ellison had also heard – from her other friend Eve – that Jenn liked her wine.
“May hellish morning sickness rain down on Jennifer Cartwright,” Andi said, taking the cap off a bottle of vodka and swigging from it before passing it to Ellison. Ellison declined. “What, no pre-game?” “I thought you were my driver tonight?” Andi put the cap back on. “Right. I get to be reliable Andrea tonight. How boring.” Ellison wrapped her arm around her best friend. “Tell me I look hot.” “You look hot. I love the boots,” Andi said. Ellison lifted a leg in the air ,so her friend could get a better look at her olive green, suede boots. Andi whistled. “Definitely hot.” “C’mon,” Ellison answered. “Let’s go before we end up here all night having a love fest with my vodka bottle.”