Taking the Fall by W. Ferraro Read Free Book Online

mood, but she couldn’t help but begin to think of the heated conversation she had with Bob, her ex, last night. Bob had always been a loving father, attentive and caring. But lately, well the last three years, his attention had waned from their daughters to his young sons. Molly tried to justify his lack of presence to the girls and even herself, but last night was the final straw.
    “I went ahead and picked up the tickets for you and Tracey for the girls’ dance recital. Tickets were at a premium this year; I took my life in my own hands taking the last six tickets for the front row from Claire Manning.” Molly chuckled.
    “Well, Claire doesn’t have to be upset for long. Tracey and I don’t think we will be able to make the recital this year.”
    Molly wanted to feel appalled but honestly, in a way, she was expecting it. Other than the twice weekly visits to his house, Bob had been mostly absent, often having to work late even on those nights.
    “I see. And what emergency, unforeseen circumstance, or just plain old excuse are you using this time?”
    “There is no reason to be snarky, Mol,” Bob remarked but with a different tone than before.
    “I beg to differ Bob. The girls expect you to be there as do I.”
    Bob let out a long sigh, which echoed through the phone. “Look, Tracey and I just don’t think John and Peter will sit quietly through the whole performance, and we wouldn’t want to upset anyone else’s viewing.”
    Molly couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She could think of a hundred ways to solve this solution not to mention the most obvious one.
    “Well, either get a babysitter then, or you come alone and let Tracey stay with the boys.”
    “Don’t tell me how to parent, Molly.”
    “I’m not telling you how to parent, but I would think your concern of being a parent would carry over to your daughters, too.”
    “Don’t tell me I don’t love my daughters!” Bob yelled, causing Molly to have to move the phone away from her ear.
    Silence took over both ends of the conversation, finally ending with Molly saying, “Fine, Bob, if you can’t come up with a solution and choose to not come, that’s fine. But I will not be the one to tell them. That is on you. “
    “You know if I tell them what Jess will say? She will blame Tracey even more.”
    That is your big concern?
    “Come on, Mol, tell them we will do something special at my house after the recital. You know you can put a spin on it that they would understand.” Molly wanted to stand her ground and tell him to break their daughters’ hearts on his own, until he added, “Come on, it is the least you can do considering what you put me through.”
    He knew that was all it would take.
    And suddenly Molly’s resolve shattered into a million pieces.
    “I’ll tell them. Goodbye, Bob,” Molly said as she disconnected the call.
    Some would say Bob was being cruel and unfair by overplaying that card, considering how many years have passed, but to Molly, he was being truthful. She knew she had crushed him when she asked for a divorce. She was well aware of how hard he had tried to make her happy, but Molly also knew that it wasn’t fair to him or to her to live a lie.
    Molly hadn’t been happy in their marriage in a long time. In fact, she hated to admit it, but her pregnancy with Samantha had been an attempt to make her marriage work. She loved Bob, but she didn’t love him the way she should have. It was a little time after Sammy was born that Molly knew she couldn’t do it anymore so she asked Bob for a divorce. She knew she crushed him, but she also knew she couldn’t stay in a marriage that she didn’t want to be in, and that wasn’t fair to the father of her children. It broke her heart, but not her resolve, that the sweet man tried to talk her out of it, but eventually he conceded and signed the papers. But it was not lost on Molly that his signature on the final page was also another way for him to show his love for