her throat. “Your dad and I just weren’t moving on the same path anymore, I guess.”
“That’s not a real answer, Mom,” Britt said, reaching out and slipping her hand in Joy’s.
“I know, honey. The problem is that I don’t really know what happened. Your dad just decided he didn’t want to be married to me anymore, and he left.”
“That’s it? That’s not a reason,” she insisted. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed with indignation. “You didn’t even ask him to go to counseling?”
Joy couldn’t help it. She let out a bark of humorless laughter. “Oh, honey. Of course I did. I’d been asking him for months to go to counseling. I knew we weren’t connecting anymore and wanted to change that. But he didn’t. And there’s really nothing I can do to change how he feels or force him to stay with me. Besides, I don’t want to be married to a man who doesn’t want me.” Emotionally or physically. But she didn’t say that part. There were some things her children didn’t need to know.
“He just gave up on our family,” Britt said, her indignation turning to outright anger as her face flushed pink. “What the hell is his problem?”
“Britt, he didn’t give up on you or your brothers, did he? Doesn’t he call you all the time and take you to lunch every couple of weeks?”
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. He took me out last week. But it’s not the same as it used to be. He’s quiet and never talks about his life. He just asks me about work and Dave and when we’re going to tie the knot.” She turned a pale shade of green at the mention of marriage, and Joy was convinced she was going to lose the contents of her stomach. But then she rallied. “I guess he isn’t a fan of his little girl living in sin.”
“Living in sin? What is this, 1958?” Joy chuckled. “Trust me, he doesn’t care about that. He’s probably just flailing around for something to talk about.”
“Really?”
“Really. He wasn’t even sure we should get married. I’m convinced he would’ve been happy to just live together forever if I hadn’t insisted.”
Britt’s eyes widened. “What? I never knew that. So you’re saying he never wanted to be married in the first place? Is that why he left?”
Joy took a moment to think about her daughter’s question. Then she shrugged. “I don’t really think so. But maybe? We were living together and the next thing I knew, I was pregnant with your brother. And then I insisted we get married. We were starting a family, and I wanted it to be legal.”
“Why? Doesn’t Dad always say that marriage is just a piece of paper?”
“Just a piece of paper.” Joy snorted. “That piece of paper made it so that I walked away from this marriage with fifty percent of our marital assets and am not struggling to make ends meet because I haven’t been working for the past twenty-six years.” She turned, giving her daughter her full attention. “Listen, Britt. I’m a feminist. You know that. Women have choices and should be free to exercise them however they see fit. Kids without marriage is fine. I don’t have a problem with it. But when one partner gives up their career potential to raise the children, that partner needs to be protected. Marriage is a legal contract. Remember that.”
Britt frowned. “You make it sound like a business transaction.”
Joy gave her a smile. “It is, kind of. I have a friend who always used to say that you marry for love, but divorce is a business transaction. I never thought your father and I would get divorced. Not even when we were going through rough patches. I was in it for good. But he decided he needed a different life, and in the end, I’m okay. So is he. We don’t hate each other, and we have three children who we love more than anything. Life happens. We just need to deal with it and try to move on.”
“I don’t know what to do,” she said, leaning back against the headboard and closing her eyes.
“About what?” Joy asked.
“Dave.” She shook her head. “He got a job offer in Texas and wants me to go with him.”
Joy’s stomach rolled at the thought of her daughter moving out of state. But she kept her expression and tone neutral. This had to be Britt’s choice. “How do you feel about that?”
Her eyes flew open and they