When she refused to respond, Laura tried another tactic and sent her ugly text messages, reminding Julia that Eddie no longer loved her and wanted out of the marriage.

  You are only delaying the inevitable.

  You are being so selfish and mean-spirited.

  Why are you beating a dead horse?

  You’re a jealous witch.

  For a couple weeks, Julia resisted, until she couldn’t take it any longer. Before she could stop herself, she responded with an ugly message of her own, letting Laura know exactly what she thought of her in words that made her blush now. She hated herself for lowering to Laura’s level. She regretted every word of those texts, furious with herself. She wasn’t that woman.

  At that point, Hillary had gotten involved. Julia had never meant for her daughter to see those texts. When she did, Hillary had gone ballistic. Both their daughters were already furious with their father, and this behavior from Laura didn’t help.

  Without Julia knowing what she had planned, Hillary confronted Eddie and Laura at Lake Sammamish on a family outing and called her every ugly name in the book. Using the same language Julia had used earlier. Not willing to tolerate Hillary and Marie’s outrage, Laura’s two sons verbally confronted the girls, and a shouting match ensued. Like a California wildfire, the situation had exploded, as both families attacked each other. Eddie got involved, demanding that his daughters respect his future wife. In the heat of the moment, he said words he would live to regret. If Hillary and Marie couldn’t accept Laura, then they could no longer be part of his life.

  Unsure what to do, Julia once again consulted the counselor, seeking his advice. She could identify with her daughters’ outrage. She’d been angry, too, going through well-documented stages of grief, only in this instance the loss was the demise of her marriage.

  Sitting in the counselor’s office, wringing her hands with a damp tissue, Julia explained what had happened.

  “I’m so sorry, Julia.” His expression was full of sympathy. “I know how badly you wanted to make your marriage work.”

  “I never meant for matters to get so nasty.”

  “I know.”

  “Should I sign the divorce papers?” she asked, praying he would give her the direction she needed.

  He was silent for several moments and seemed to carefully consider his response. “I can’t tell you what to do. I will say this, though: Love that isn’t faithful has little value. It really isn’t love at all.”

  With a heavy heart, Julia left the appointment, knowing what needed to be done.

  She had put up the good fight. The time had come for her to lay down her sword and accept defeat. Eddie was never coming back. This was the end. It was time to let go.

  Let go of her husband.

  Let go of her marriage.

  Let go of her dreams for their future together.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at the document in front of her, the words blurred through the moisture that clouded her eyes.

  With her heart in her throat, she reached for the pen a second time and signed her name.

  As she did, she told herself: It’s better this way.

 

 

  Debbie Macomber, Any Sunday

 

 

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