The second our daughter, Tania Barston, blew out the candles on her fourth birthday cake all by herself, I sent my husband, Rodney Barston, the divorce papers.
He replied instantly with a simple OK, and I stared at it for a long time. For five years, he had replied to every single text message I sent with those exact same two letters.
Exactly a year ago today, a delivery truck crashed into us while I was taking Tania to pick up her birthday cake. I threw my body over hers and ended up with severe head trauma.
Sitting in the back of the ambulance, I called Rodney twenty-nine times. I’d made a silent bargain with myself—if he picked up, I would give our marriage one last chance.
He didn’t answer once. Instead, I got twenty-nine automated replies, all reading the exact same thing: “OK.”
I found out later that he’d spent the entire afternoon celebrating the third birthday of Macey, Claire Pashley’s daughter.
We’d been married for five years. In all four years of Tania’s life, he hadn’t come home to celebrate a single one of her birthdays, nor had he ever wished her a happy one.
Yet he’d never missed one of Macey’s.
He was always so mindful of the fact that Claire was a struggling single mom. He remembered the Elsa dress Macey mentioned in passing, and he knew both of them were highly allergic to dairy.
Back at the table, Tania stared at her cake, her eyes brimming with tears. “Mom?” she asked, her voice small. “Did Dad get lost?”
I stroked her hair and slipped my phone back into my purse.
I had nearly died in surgery after the crash, but when I woke up, I’d still somehow convinced that he was just too busy.
Not today. I was done lying to myself.
This was the last time I was going to wait around for Rodney to come home and act like a father.
No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 09 That night, Tania really did come down with a raging fever. Her temperature climbed all the way to 39.5°C, and even after she took fever-reducing medicine, it still would not come down. Konnor was away on a business trip. I held Tania by myself, getting ready to take […]
No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 08 Rodney really waited downstairs. He waited from three in the afternoon until six in the evening. Everyone at the law firm had left before Konnor finally came out. He looked at Rodney sitting on the steps and let out a sigh. “Come with me.” Rodney sprang to his
No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 07 “Rod, what’s wrong with you? You haven’t been answering my calls these past few days.” Claire walked in holding Macey’s hand, and she jumped when she saw the mess all over the room. “Rod, why are you crying? Did Olivia get mad at you again? I told you
No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 06 Early the next morning, Rodney went to the courthouse. The staff told him that Olivia had already been there yesterday. As long as he signed, the agreement would take effect. He held the divorce agreement and still refused to put pen to paper. “Sir, are you signing or
No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 05 In Rodney’s phone, there was only the cold message: “The user you dialed is powered off.” The kindergarten teacher walked over and patted his shoulder. “Mr. Barston, it’s time for the family photo.” He snapped back to himself, and when he looked at Macey smiling brightly into the
No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 04 By eight the next morning, I had Tania discharged. We were just walking out the main doors of the hospital when my phone rang. “You checked Tanny out?” Rodney demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me? I was just getting ready to come pick you two up.” I smirked,
No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 03 At seven that evening, the hospital room door swung open. Rodney glared at me, immediately on the offensive. “Claire cooked this huge dinner specifically for you. Why didn’t you show up?” Claire walked in right behind him, holding Macey’s hand. “Olivia, I’m so sorry. Rodney spent all that
No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 02 “Mommy, I’m cold.” It was 2:00 AM, and Tania was shivering. I felt her forehead. She was burning up. I grabbed the thermometer—it read 39.9°C. The bedroom door was wide open. Rodney was already gone. I called him immediately. He finally picked up on the eighth ring. “Hello?
No Longer Waiting For You Chapter 01 Olivia’s POV The second our daughter, Tania Barston, blew out the candles on her fourth birthday cake all by herself, I sent my husband, Rodney Barston, the divorce papers. He replied instantly with a simple OK, and I stared at it for a long time. For five years,
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