Chapter 4
425 Words
The new week started fast.
Too fast.
The court date came sooner than I expected.
Tomáš and I stood there like strangers.
No emotions. No fight left.
The decision was simple.
The kids stayed with me.
I agreed to everything… except one thing.
I didn’t want child support.
Tomáš disagreed.
Of course he did.
In the end, the judge made a compromise — he would cover anything the kids needed. School. Activities. Anything important.
That was enough for me.
When we walked out, we didn’t say goodbye.
We just… went our separate ways.
And that was it.
At home, it was quiet.
Not heavy.
Just… different.
Lighter.
That evening, my phone buzzed.
“Hope everything went well.”
Peter.
I stared at the message for a moment.
“Why are you texting me from your work phone?” I replied.
“I told you already.”
I sighed.
“That’s something you should say in person.”
No answer.
The next morning, my phone rang.
“Can you come downstairs?”
I didn’t even have to ask who it was.
I went.
He was there.
“Hey… how did it go?” he asked immediately.
“Good,” I smiled slightly. “The kids are with me. So… I guess I’m officially free.”
“You’re not old,” he said quickly.
I laughed quietly. “That’s not the point.”
Silence.
“I just… wanted to see you,” he admitted.
My heart skipped.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
He smiled.
Not the usual one.
Something more… real.
“Take care,” he added.
Then he left.
Just like that.
The following days felt strange.
Peaceful.
Calm in a way I wasn’t used to.
I started noticing things again.
The smell of coffee.
The kids laughing.
The quiet in the apartment.
My own thoughts.
I saw his van a few times from the window.
Always moving.
Always somewhere else.
But never… here.
Never for me.
At first, I didn’t think about it.
Then a few days passed.
Then a week.
Still nothing.
One evening, I sat on the couch with my phone in my hand longer than I wanted to admit.
Finally, I typed:
“Are you okay?”
Sent.
Silence.
A few days later, I saw him again.
From the window.
He stopped, grabbed a package…
but didn’t even look toward my building.
Like he knew exactly where not to look.
I stood there, behind the curtain.
And for the first time, I wondered…
if he was the one choosing distance.
- Writer
