Husband Routinely Ridicules Jobless Wife for Being Idle, Discovers a Note Following Her Ambulance Departure
A man ridicules his unemployed wife, only to come home one day to find her gone. In her search, he discovers a note revealing she intends to divorce him. Can he stop her from doing so and save their marriage?
It was a bright, cold October morning, and Harry was excited about his gaming app presentation, a project he had poured himself into for the past six months.
As the clock struck eight, Harry entered the dining room, preoccupied with his phone, barely acknowledging his wife, Sara, and their sons, Cody and Sonny.
âMorning, honey,â greeted Sara.
âGood morning, Daddy,â the boys chimed in unison.
Ignoring them, Harry grabbed a toast and rushed back to his room.
âSara, whereâs my white shirt?â Harryâs voice boomed from the room.
âItâs in the wash with the other whites,â Sara replied.
Harry stormed into the dining room. âThatâs my lucky shirt! I needed it for today!â
âI didnât have enough whites for a full load until now. You have other white shirts!!â
âThis is a big day for me, and youâre making excuses?â Harry retorted.
âYouâre overreacting, Harry. Your presentation is what matters. Itâs just a shirt. So stop barking, alright?â
âOh really? Iâm barking? You wanna do this now?â
âDo what, Harry? Youâre making a scene for a stupid little thing. And nobody would be interested in what color shirt youâre wearing when all eyes would be fixed on your goddamn presentation.â
âA goddamn presentation? Come againâŠDid you just say that? Do you have any idea how Iâve been busting my butt off day and night for that project?â
âWatch your words. The kidsâŠ.â
âYou sit at home all day doing nothing,â Harry blurted out. âIs it too hard to remember one simple thing? All you do is Blah Blah Blah and NOTHING at home.â
âHarry, stop this. The kids are watching. Youâre scaring them.â
âOh really? And nobody watches you when youâre on the goddamn phone gossiping all the time with your friends. Nobody watches that, huh, Sara? You can never be a good wife if you canât do even a simple thing for me!â
Harry dressed up in a random suit and stormed out of the house, grabbing his briefcase.
After a successful presentation and bagging the promotion, Harry anticipated an apology call from Sara â something she always did after their fights. But this time, there were no calls.
Thinking he would win her apology anyway, he returned home with white roses but found the apartment empty. A note from Sara on the table read, âI want a divorce.â
Confused and worried, Harry called Saraâs sister, Zara, who informed him that Sara was in the hospital. Harry rushed to the hospital, only to face an angry Zara. âYou told her she was not âwifeâ enough for you?â
âLook, weâll talk about this later, alright?â
Harry rushed to meet the doctor. âDoctor, is my wife alright? Can I see her?â
âIt was a mild attack. Sheâs out of danger. But she needs to take care of her health now. Go ahead and only ten minutes coz she needs to rest.â
Harry shakily walked into the ward, trying to force a smile as he approached Sara.
âHoney, Iâm sorry. Please, let me explain. Iââ
âI donât wanna hear anything. Iâm done. Divorce is the only thing I want.â
âWha-What? WhyâŠYouâre taking it too far, alright?â
âI had ambitions, plans⊠I chose you over every opportunity, and it ruined my life,â she said. âItâs too late for your sorry, Harry.â
âHoney, please. We can work this together,â he pleaded.
âNo, I canât do this anymore. I canât be fake to myself. To you. And to the kids. Iâm 32, but I feel like a crone. I just hate you, Harry. Youâre so disgusting.â
âWhat about the kids, Sara?â
âIâm in a tough spot to provide for themâŠSo theyâre staying with you.â
Harry spoke no more and stormed out of the hospital to pick up his kids from Zaraâs house.
At home, he ordered pizza and ice cream for dinner. After tucking the kids into bed, he called his friend Alex, who suggested that Sara might have just cracked up and would be home soon.
The next morning, Harryâs kids awoke him, and as soon as he looked at his watch, he knew he was late! In the morning chaos, Harry burnt the French toast and his shirt while juggling the kidsâ school preparations.
âOh, no, the toast,â he exclaimed, rushing to salvage the breakfast.
âDaddyâŠDaddy, whatâs happening?â the kids asked amidst the chaos.
âItâs just the smoke alarm. Donât worry,â Harry reassured them, but things only got worse.
He had an important meeting, and he was getting late. âIâll quickly get ready, and letâs grab something nice to eat on the way to school, yeah?â
He dropped the kids off at school and arrived late at the meeting. âSorry! Traffic, you knowâŠ.â
When he returned home in the evening, Harry found signs of Saraâs absence more evident. Her belongings were gone. âDid she leave me for real?â he wondered, overwhelmed.
âDaddy, what happened to Mommyâs pictures and her things?â the boys asked.
Harry, clueless, called Zara.
âIs this some kind of a joke, Zara? Your sister came here. Took all her things. And left me? With the kids?â
Zara coldly informed him, âSheâd told you, hadnât she, Harry? You took my sister for granted.â And then the line went blank.
Five months went by without Sara. Harry struggled to balance work and parenting, and his work performance declined.
One day, his boss, Mr. Adams, invited him for a beer. At the pub, Mr. Adams brought up Harryâs recent work issues.
âHarry, weâve noticed youâve been missing deadlines and coming in late. And weâre a businessâŠIf you know what I mean,â Mr. Adams said.
Harry, trying to lighten the mood, joked, âSo, you plan to let your best game developer go?â
Mr. Adams was also Harryâs friend, and Harry couldâve never prepared himself for what happened next.
âIâm afraid, yes,â Mr. Adams replied seriously. âItâs out of my hands. Iâll give you good recommendations.â
âWhat? Please, donât do this! I need this job for my kids.â
Mr. Adams remained silent, leading Harry to storm out in frustration. As he walked away, his phone rang. It was Sara.
âSara?â Harry said, surprised.
âHarry, can we meet for a quick chat at five? At the cafĂ© where we firstâŠ?â Sara asked.
At a café, Sara met with Harry to discuss their children. She revealed she had been in therapy and now wanted custody.
âCustody?? How dare you? After you left us?â Harry fumed.
âHarry, Iâm their mother. I have rights,â Sara insisted.
âYou abandoned them, and now you want to take them away? Theyâre used to me now,â Harry argued.
Sara was determined. âI deserve to have them back. Iâll see you in court.â
Days later, Harry, now adept at managing household chores and balancing a new freelance gig, prepared breakfast for his sons.
âDaddy loves you,â he kissed them goodbye and dropped them at school before heading to the custody trial.
âMr. Wills, can you please tell us about your attention to your family while you lived together with my client, Miss Sara?â Saraâs lawyer asked Harry.
âWell, I did my best to provide for my family. I worked long hours. Overtime sometimes. I kept myself busy because I wanted to make sure they had everything they needed,â Harry said.
âThatâs what most responsible family guys do, right?! And what about your wifeâs ambitions? Did she want to build her own career?â
âBefore we had our kidsâŠYes, she did want to work. But after that, she stayed home to look after the kids and the household.â
âWell, looking after the kidsâŠthe familyâŠcooking, cleaning. So basically, your wife has been your cook. Your childrenâs nanny. Your wellwisher. And did you insult her, saying she did nothing at home?â
âI did. Yes, it was an outburst. I was late for office andââ
âMr. Wills, were you fired from your job? Why were you fired exactly?â
âObjection, Your Honor. This is utterly irrelevant and immaterial to the case,â Harryâs lawyer rose.
âObjection overruled.â
âThank you, Your Honor!â added Saraâs lawyer. âMr. Wills, why were you fired from your job?â
After a momentous pause, Harry looked into Saraâs teary eyes and opened up. âBecause I couldnât balance my work and parental duties. I tried, but it was too much. But I didnât give up. I would never give up on my kids. I love them.â
âMr. Wills, how are you managing now? How do you intend to support your kidsâŠwithout a job?â
âI have a job. I can support them well.â
âBe specific, Mr. Wills. What job and whatâs the salary?â
âItâŠItâs a part-time freelance gig. Iâm a video editor.â
âMr. Wills, I admire your confidence despite your climbing down the career ladder! Iâm sure you make nothing much like you used to in your previous job, right?â the lawyer added ironically. âA freelance job. Low salary. And raising two kids in todayâs recession. WellâŠThatâs all, Your Honor.â
Sara was then called up to the box as Harryâs heart started pounding.
âMs. Sara, can you please tell us about your life with your husbandâŠI mean, soon-to-be ex-husband?â Harryâs lawyer asked. âDid he ever refuse to give you money or care for you in any way?â
âNoâŠNot at all. He was always generous with our finances. We never had any issues with money.â
âDid Mr. Wills ever raise his hands on you or the kids? Has he ever come home drunk and misbehaved at home?â
âNo, he never laid a hand on us. My husband. Sorry. Mr. Wills has never come home drunk.â
âYour husband has taken care of you. You even agreed on that. Heâs never laid his hands on you. Then why did you leave him and the kids?â
âI had a nervous breakdown. He was always busy. He would come home and sit with his laptop, barely asking me if I was sickâŠhappyâŠor sad. I tried to cope. But I couldnât do it anymore and left. I didnât want my kids to struggle with me as I wasnât emotionally stable at that time.â
Harry slowly started to break on the inside, and those words hit him like a bag of bricks.
âMs. Sara, where were you these six months? What were you doing, and how will you care for the kids?â
âI was in Chicago at a friendâs place. I wanted to be away from everything and everyone for a while. Then I moved back to BostonâŠgot a job as an interior designer.â
âWhatâs the guarantee you wonât have another breakdown and wonât abandon the kids again?â the lawyer broke Saraâs silence.
âObjection, Your Honor. This is baseless andâŠ.â Saraâs lawyer chimed in. âMy client, Ms. Sara, has come for the childrenâs custody. Why would she leave them again?â
âOrderâŠOrder.â
âI wonât do it ever again. My children are my world. Iâll be there for them and never let anything like that happen again.â
And two hours later, the verdict was announced, and Sara was granted custody of the kids.
ââŠ.Mr. Wills, youâll have the right to visit your children and take them with you two days a week. Youâre required to pay $860 as support to your children every month. This case is now closed.â
Soon, the day arrived when the kids would go with Sara. She arrived, sad to separate the kids from their father but happy to have them back. As she was leaving with her two sons, her elder one stopped her.
âYouâre just tearing us apart,â spoke Cody as he let go of Saraâs hand and bolted to Harry.
âWe want both Mommy and Daddy!â added Sonny.
This was it. Sara could no longer hold herself back. She bolted in their direction and hugged them.