Messages...

The message came through with just a phone number. No name attached from her contacts. She would have liked to tell herself she didn't know who it was from. That the number wasn't familiar to her. But that would be a lie. She had erased his name but not his memory.

"I just thought you'd like to know, I'm getting a divorce."

There was a time in her life that message would have filled her with joy. He was leaving Her. He had promised he was going to and he was. Or more accurately he had promised he was leaving Her when she found out there was a Her to leave.

She hadn't started out planning on sleeping with and falling in love with a married man. It wasn't in her nature. It wasn't who she was raised to be. She had looked down on those hussy homewreckers her whole life. Right up until the night she realized the man she had been dating had a wife. That she was one of those hussy homewreckers.

Except she wasn't, not really. He and his wife were only together for the children. It was more a marriage of companionship, and not even that, they lived separate lives. They had married too young. Had children too soon. Had too little in common. He was going to leave Her soon. They just had to figure out how to tell the kids.

He was basically already separated.

Except for the separated part. And all the rest of it. None of it was true. If she had asked his wife She would have had no idea there was anything wrong. Except that maybe he worked too much. Too many late nights in the office. Too many business trips away. But that was just part of their life right now. He was striving to succeed and there was a price to that.

She had spent five years with him. Five years of soon; he was going to leave Her soon. As soon as their youngest started school. As soon as their eldest got over his fear of swimming. As soon as they settled the estate from his mother passing. As soon as the weather changed, the crops were in, the moon turned into green cheese. Soon.

She had stopped believing in soon around year three. Had tried to leave a few times. Always coming back when he would call. Or when he would show up on her doorstep. He was leaving Her. She was kicking him out. It was time. But it never was. He never was going to leave. She never even knew She should kick him out.

Finally she had enough. A friend told her that she deserved more in life and she actually agreed. Once she did that it was like the Universe had been waiting for her.

Her lease was up on her apartment and then a better job opened up in a new city. She didn't tell him where. She told him it was an opportunity to recommit to his marriage without any distractions. And he agreed with her. Which hurt more than she had thought it would.

She packed up her life, deleted his name from her contacts and moved.

Life carried on. New job, new city, new boyfriend, who became a fiance, who became her husband, new baby. And now, five years later a text message.

She read it again.

"What's that?"

"Just one of those phishing messages. You know the ones where they send you a message to get you to respond?" Which wasn't a lie. Not really. He was fishing and hoping he'd catch her again.

She hit "Spam/Block" and turned back to her family. Soon she wouldn't even remember his number.

Soon.