The Day She Left Him

She Left Him

"Can we have prawns and crabs?" He sucked his thumb, closed his eyes and tilted his chin towards the ceiling.

"I'm sorry Jake but we don't have those in the fridge," Lisa frowned.

"Get Daddy to buy them," Jake said, he opened his eyes and looked at Lisa. He took his thumb out and grinned again.

"I will but Daddy won't be home until very late. We need to eat soon or our stomach will be very angry with us," Lisa said soothingly.

"Ask Daddy to come home now. It's my birthday!" Jake demanded.

"I tried honey, but you know Daddy's always busy," Lisa sighed. Déjà vu overwhelmed her as this situation is so familiar especially of late. Despite the familiarity, Lisa finds it difficult to believe that he would do this on his own son's birthday. His ONLY son's birthday. Unless he has another that I didn't know about, Lisa wondered in silence.

Jake started sulking.

"I know, let's make your favorite. How about Mac and Cheese?" Lisa suggested.

Jake's face lit up. He grinned again.

"With lots and lots and ..." Jake nodded his head while uttering each word.

"Lots of cheese!" Lisa finished the sentence for him. She grinned too. Then they both started laughing.

For that brief moment, everything felt good again. But alas, the happiness would not last long. Lisa sighed and placed a stack of Jake's pants into his luggage.

"Where are we going, Mommy?" Jake asked as he rolled on his bed and rubbed his sleepy eyes. Lisa managed a small smile despite the turmoil manifesting in her heart and mind. She replied briefly, "Papi is on his way over. We're staying with him for a bit."

Jake got into a sitting position on his bed and looked at his mother. He grabbed his teddy bear, gave it a strong hug and asked, "Why?" Lisa looked away from him and pretended to be busy looking for his clothes in the nearby wardrobe. She mustered a soft reply, "We're leaving Daddy." Even then, her eyes remained dry.

She removed Jake's clothes, which were hanging in his wardrobe and began folding them as she recalled the later hours of Jake's birthday and how her attempts at calling his dad were to no avail.

"Hello?" Lisa's fluster was audible that evening.

"... lo?" The reply that came through was on a connection that was as broken as her heart.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" She tried again, frustration welling up inside her.

"... busy... call ... later." Lisa heard the click, which ended the call.

Oh my God! This is so annoying. Lisa hung up the phone in frustration after her fifth attempt at calling her husband. She looked at the phone and felt like picking it up and throwing it at the wall. One last try, she muttered to herself. Six times the charm or so they say? Picking up the receiver, she dialed for the sixth time. It went straight to the voice mail box this time. Lisa hung up. She never liked those automated voice mail machines. Taking a long deep breath, she picked up the receiver and dialed his number again. Voice mail box again. Damn it!

After yet another five attempts and just getting the voice mail box, she banged the receiver on the phone. Fuming, she dialed another number.

"Hello?" A female voice answered after a single ring.

"Elaine, it's Li...sa." She broke down uncontrollably. Tears gushed down, wetting her checks.

"Oh hun, hang in there. I'm coming over now." Elaine hung up.