My Daughter Took My Hand After School and Said, “Mom, Divorce Dad — He Doesn’t Love Us.” That Night, Over One Chicken Leg, I Finally Listened

“I can print another copy in five minutes,” I said.

The ex-wife’s smile vanished entirely.

Chapter 13 — Mom, I’m Getting a Divorce

That night I called my parents.

“Mom,” I said, “I’m getting a divorce.”

My mother was silent for perhaps two seconds.

Then she asked the only question that mattered to her, the question that told me everything about where I came from and had somehow spent five years forgetting.

“Are they hurting you?”