Unbelievable!

I am utterly and completely flabbergasted by what the X did today.

The kids and I got home at 8 p.m.
The phone rings while we’re getting our jammies on.
It’s X.
“I have a housewarming gift for the kids and you. Can I bring it now? I came by earlier, but you weren’t home yet.”
“Uh. I guess so. But you’d better get here fast because it’s the kids’ bedtime.”

8:25, knock on the door.
X is here and needs Oldest Son to help him get the thing out of the car.
Oldest Son tells me what he thinks it is, and I tell him it’s very unlikely.
While they are working, I look out the door.
It is what Oldest thinks it is.

I rush to the phone and call my mother.
“Mom, I need to talk to Dad right away! X is here with this thing and I cannot accept this.”
“Then just say No. Be nice, but just say no. Call me back.”

Oldest and X come staggering in the door with a box the size of a bus.
It’s a 27″ Samsung Slimline television. Brand Spanking New.
I look X straight in the eyes and say, “I cannot accept this gift. I am sorry. It’s impossible.”

Oldest and Youngest burst into tears.
X says, “Can I give you the gift receipt and you can get the money and combine it with the insurance?”
I say, “No, I cannot accept a gift of this size or value from you. I cannot accept a gift at all from you.”
The kids are devastated.
I’m shaking.

Oldest is too upset to help move the thing back to the car.
I wrap up my broken toe and help X wrestle the darn thing back into his car.
I have the kids tell him goodbye and thank him for his kind intentions.
I tell him I’m sorry, that if I’d realized what he was bringing, I’d have saved him the trip.
He leaves.

I gather the kids on my bed and try to explain.
Ladies do not accept $1000 gifts from men they are not married to.
I call my mom, put her on speaker, and have HER try to explain.
Ladies do not accept $1000 gifts from men they are not married to, and if your mom accepts that gift, your dad may think that she’s willing to consider reconciling with him.
And that would be cruel to him.
We ring off.

I tuck the kids in bed.
“Good night darlings, I love you.”
No answer.
I burst into tears.

I call my mom … again.
She’s furious.
She says he’s a complete moron.
She says what I’ve been thinking: “He always said you were a money-grubbing bitch. Now he has money, he’s trying to BUY you back.”
I cry.

My kids are angry with me and I can’t make them understand.
He’s trying to buy their affection, and they are too young to know better.
He thinks I’m cheap enough to be bought for a $1000 TELEVISION.
He thinks I can be bought at all!
I talk to mom for a while.
I cry some more.

Maybe I will get over this, but it’s going to take a while.

Tags: challenges, character, children, divorce, Family Life, True Stories