Their Last Happy Day

The day is beautiful, as it should be.  The sun is shining as summer comes to a close. The trees shudder in the wind, releasing their leaves onto the ground.  There is a chill in the air that wasn’t there yesterday.  Fall has officially arrived.

The kids scramble out of the car and race to the park.  Their smiles and screaming laughter almost bring tears to his eyes.  He catches the eye of his wife but she turns away to run after the children.  It used to be so easy for them.  Nowadays, it is a chore to even say hello to one another.

He hopes this isn’t a mistake.  Tonight is the night they will break the news to the kids. He worries it will be too much of a shock.  They have been so careful not to argue in front of them.  They didn’t want their kids to witness the breakdown of their marriage but now he wonders if that was right.  It’s too late now.

He glances toward his family, now just specks among the trees.  A single tear springs from his eye as he thinks of everything he is about to lose.  They had so many good days and he still can’t pin-point where it started to go wrong.  There is no one to blame.  That is the worst part.  There is no one to point to and say, “You.  You did this.” He still loves her in a way but, at some point, there came a time when they couldn’t even stand to be around each other.  She was the first to mention divorce.  He had been so angry but had come around to the same decision.  He knew she was right. Tonight, the kids will find out, and tomorrow, the papers will be signed to begin the proceedings.  He can’t help but feel like a failure.

Will they understand?  Will they blame either one of us?  Will they still love us?

He begins walking toward his family and their last happy day together.  When his youngest son comes running towards him and jumps into his arms, it takes every thing inside of him not to burst into tears.

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