be glad to do whatever I can to help you gather information, but the laws are clear. If you can negotiate half of your holdings and property and a reasonable support payment, you’ve done good. You can probably file the papers yourself. If you get the lawyers involved, they’re going to get most of the money.”
“I know,” she said. “Let me know what you find. And if it’s beyond your reach, please just tell me.”
“Absolutely.”
* * *
The conversation with their girls was not easy, but it was very similar to their discussion with each other. Scott started it off.
“As you know, Mom and I have been in marriage counseling because we weren’t completely happy and we’ve grown apart...”
“I was completely happy, and I know nothing about this growing apart,” Justine said.
Scott scowled at her. “There was something missing in the marriage for me. I wasn’t happy and—”
Justine put her elbows on her knees and leaned toward them. “Look, this may be a bit hard for you to understand. While your dad was feeling whatever that growing apart business was, I was working. Often ten-hour days. I might be guilty of not paying close enough attention to him, missing something, but nevertheless, he found himself involved with another woman...”
“Dad?” Amber asked, her spine stiffening in shock.
Olivia was eerily quiet.
“It’s true,” he said. “I strayed.”
That word again.
“I never have before and I can’t believe I did, but there it is. I’m the guilty party. That’s what your mother wants me to say, that I’m the guilty one.”
“But are you sorry?” Amber asked.
“Of course!”
“And so she’s gone now, right? The woman?”
“Not exactly,” Justine said. “Your father is still involved with her. I believe he loves her.”
“Do you, Dad? Love her?”
“We’re good friends, that’s how I can best explain it. If you knew her, you’d understand—”
“Oh, you did not...” Justine said. “She is the reason our marriage is falling apart and our family is torn, and you’re going to argue that she’s just too nice to resist?”
“But you can stop being friends with her, right? Because you can’t still want to be friends now, right?” Amber’s voice was pleading.
“Scott, please be honest with Amber. You and that woman are much more than friends. And you’ve made no suggestion that you’ll stop seeing her.”
There was a heavy silence in the room. Finally it was Olivia’s very quiet voice that broke through. “Daddy, don’t you love Mom anymore?”
“I will always love your mother, but I don’t think I love her in the way I did when we were younger. We’ve grown apart. We don’t spend time together. We don’t have much in common. Your mother’s work takes up a lot of time and is her priority. I don’t blame her, I blame myself. But things have changed and sometimes that happens. Your mother and I are talking about a separation. Not immediately, but soon. We need some time apart.”
“Are you getting divorced?” Amber asked.
“Honey, we love you very much, but—” Scott started to respond.
“Yes,” Justine said. “This is not your fault, either of you. But yes, we’re going to divorce. Because our marriage contract has been broken and can’t be mended. If your father wanted to save our marriage, we might have a fighting chance. But he doesn’t.”
“But you’re in counseling!” Amber cried.
“And the whole while, he’s been seeing another woman. I’m afraid I can’t fight that.”
“Dad!” Amber said. “Don’t you want to be married to Mom?”
He was quiet for a long moment before he said, “I don’t know.”
Amber’s breath went out in a huff. Olivia stood quietly and walked out of the room.
* * *
April arrived, rainy much of the time and Justine’s girls were crying a lot. If Justine thought her own heart was breaking, all she had to do was look at her daughters to see just how much Scott’s affair was hurting the whole family.
Justine called the high school counselor to alert her