Committed to You

Chapter 3 The Caller

Justin and Jet both tried to contact Sloan several times the next day. They called and they texted, but she didn't answer. There was far too much on her mind. Sloan did, however, take Renatta's call and agreed to have dinner with her that evening. She didn't get much sleep the night before, thinking about what Nora had said. She'd spent most of the morning talking with her mom and her dad. Now it was time to do her podcast. She sat down at her mother's computer and prepared for the show.

She wondered what she would say, now that the intro music to the show was playing. For all the years she'd done the show, she had a program outline. This was the first time she'd gone on a live show unprepared.

"Welcome to You've Got to be Kidding Me. What has some insensitive, non-committing, crazy man done this time? This is your host, Sloan Jensen." The line went dead for a minute. She could think of nothing to say, so she started the tagline again, hoping that this time her words would fall into place.

"Welcome to You've Got to be Kidding Me. What has some insensitive, non-committing, crazy man done this time?" This is your host, Sloan Jensen." Her brain kicked in. "I'm messed up today, y'all."

She was in a dither thinking about the Trents. Sloan couldn't stop her fingers from nervously tapping the desk. The shadows under her eyes indicated lack of sleep. As much as she was trying at this very moment to keep things focused, it was not happening.

"It's actually difficult for me to sit here on live programming and say that I don't have things together like I thought I did. For years I've done this show and provided guidance to all of you, and today I'm sitting here stumped because two people whom I love are about to get a divorce after 36 years. This was my perfect family. This is the one that I wanted for myself, and to see that nothing is as it seemed is tough."

The phone lines began to light up. People were dialing in from all across the country, having something to say. "You're on, caller number 1 from Albuquerque."

"Hi, Sloan. So is this man insensitive, non-committing or just plain crazy?"

"According to his wife, insensitive. She believes that he shows little appreciation for her and doesn't remember things that are important to her."

"Good, because if he's crazy or non-committing, I don't have a comment. You helped me to stay married a few years ago. I thought my husband didn't give a shit about me. This is what you told me to ask my husband: 'Is your life worth not having me in it?' Then you told me to tell him what I wanted from my marriage and what I expected and that if he didn't give it to me, then my decision would be that he was not worth having in my life."

"I remember that, because at the time you had a young child. Being a new mom with an insensitive husband had gotten to be too much."

"That's right. Glad that you remember. You empowered me by making me see that I had a choice, but you also made me accountable to tell him what my expectations were. Maybe that lady complained but never told him the expectations. He needs to be held accountable."

"I see. Accountability is a true wakeup call. How are things with you and your husband now?"

"After he realized that I was serious about leaving him, he straightened up. We're all right now."

"Well, this husband has already been put out. I think he knows she's serious. Thank you, caller from Albuquerque. I appreciate you for reminding me of that strategy."

Sloan walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water before taking the next call. She was happy to see that perhaps this show wouldn't turn out as badly as she thought it would. "We have caller number 2 from St. Paul. Welcome to the show."