Easy to Give Up Novel – Calliope “What do you guys want to do with your next week off from school?” I ask my six-year-old twins, Jet and Jamie. The two of them were overly excited to be able to spend the next week with me and hopefully their father. “What if we went to the zoo? They’ve got monkeys!” Jet yells out. “I wanna see Nana and Papa!” Jamie yells back.
These two are my greatest blessings in life. No matter what may be happening during my day they manage to make it fun. I listen as they sing some song they learned in school as I drive us home. I pulled into our driveway and see Deacon’s car sitting there. It’s weird for him to be home this early. It’s only one in the afternoon, so I’m hoping he’s surprising us with taking some time off. Before I can stop them, both kids have unbuckled and gotten out of the van and are running full force into the house.
They have the door open and run inside before I can get to them. I hear Jamie scream and I run to get to her. That fear that only a mother knows hit me full force. My child was scared, and I had to get to her. I step through the doorway only to find my kids with their backs to the living room and their eyes closed. I look up and see the reason why. My husband stands there with a pillow in front of him while a woman is covering herself with their discarded clothes. I instantly grab my kids and pull them close.
They have their faces buried into my legs. “Calliope, what are you doing home so early?” Deacon says. He’s shocked and I can understand why. His wife and children just walked in on him having sex with a woman in our living room. What person wouldn’t be shocked? But he can’t be any more shocked than I am. I’ve just walked into my whole world being torn apart. My mind whirls to the thoughts of my children and I back out the front door without them ever turning their heads from where they are buried in my legs.
I shut the door and then spoke. “Run back to the van. We’re going to get some ice cream and talk about what we just saw.” The two of them move quickly. People may think that young children don’t catch on to things, but those people would be terribly wrong. My babies catch everything. Sometimes it’s scary how much they notice.