When You Least Expect It

6

Chapter 6

There was a time when my family was extremely happy.

While I can't say we were entirely problem-free, we continued living contentedly. Growing older makes you more aware of your surroundings and less naive. We seemed happy, or at least I thought so, until Mom departed last year. She left a note, expressing her inability to return and her unhappiness in the marriage with Dad. It wasn't that Dad was a bad husband; Mom just never wanted children and was pressured into marriage by her parents.

I remembered that night so clearly in my mind. I had woken up from sleep to get a glass of water and saw the light to my parent's room lit. Mom was hurriedly tossing clothes into a suitcase. She saw me standing at the door and tried to persuade me to go with her — told me it'll be my one and only chance of ever leaving this town. As it were, she was correct. Now I had no hope of ever leaving. I couldn't let Dad go through that again.

When Miles asked Dad why Mom left, he told us they 'fell out of love' and it's a common occurrence in marriages, but I knew better. It was clear he was still in love with her.

Dad just sat and cried. He cried and cried for an entire week. He walked around the house with a permanently blotchy face and red eyes. Then one day he just stopped.

Surprisingly, I didn't hate Mom for leaving us. I thought she was selfish at first and I grew to resent her — but then I came to the realisation that she was not happy in her marriage with Dad, and her sticking around would only do more harm than good.

I didn't have a clue what she was up to these days — she moved away from this town and only came to visit once a month. When she did visit, she would meet up with me at a coffee shop and go on about how amazing her life has become. I didn't mind as much as I thought I would. What really mattered at the end of the day was that I had a great Dad who was trying his best to grant me a good life, and that was more than I could ask for.

Montgomery was devastated as well because before the incident, he was so close to Mom.
That's part of the reason why he decided to move away and make a fresh start at the age of twenty-six. We were close, only not as close as I would like. Because we were eight years apart in age, I believe it was tough to connect and empathise to his daily struggles. After Mom left, he did his best to ensure things didn't get out of hand before he moved away.

My parents were not formally divorced; they had simply separated and gone their separate ways. That decision had a different impact on each of us. Miles, I recall, locked himself in his room and didn't speak to anyone for a week. It was now up to me to assume responsibility and ensure that everything in our house ran well.

A soft knock echoed in my room. Dad popped his head in. "Hey, kiddo. What you up to?" Dad was trying out this new method of making a habit of asking us about our day, even when my day consisted solely of lying in bed and watching YouTube videos.

I raised the book I was reading so he can see the title. The Great Gatsby.

Dad made a small humming noise. "That's a great choice. Anyway, I'm heading to the grocery store now. Want to come with?"

I was about to say no, but then I realized that I was running short on feminine items, and regardless of how close I was with Dad, some things are better left unsaid.

I followed Dad outside to his car. Dad played The Beatles all the way to the grocery store. When we got there, I let Dad grab a basket and wandered off on my own.