He Took His First Love, So I Left

Chapter 4

On the day we were due to leave, my mother-in-law was taken to the hospital after refusing to let the caregiver feed her.

When Richard arrived with Susan and our two children, I'd just finished checking her over. The doctor said it was only low blood sugar and that she should be fine as long as she ate regularly.

My mother-in-law clung to my sleeve and wouldn't let the new caregiver near her.

"Margaret, look after me for another month. You can leave once I've gotten used to someone else."

My daughter said her grandmother couldn't cope with a change in caregivers right now. My son stood nearby and offered to pay more for her care, but he still didn't offer to stay himself.

Susan bent down to put my mother-in-law's shoes on for her. Richard immediately put a hand behind Susan to support her.

"You have a bad back. Don't do that."

He turned and held the shoes out to me.

"Mom only wants you touching her. Put these on her first."

I looked at the hand he held protectively behind Susan's lower back and didn't take the shoes. I'd cared for his mother for 10 years. When my back hurt so badly that I couldn't lie flat at night, he'd said aches and pains came with being a nurse. He knew perfectly well that bending could hurt. He'd simply never thought I was the one who needed protecting.

The new caregiver came over and deftly put my mother-in-law's shoes on. I handed our children the revised care plan and told them the agency had promised to arrange a suitable replacement whenever necessary.

Richard finally lost patience.

"Everything's been taken care of, and you still insist on leaving. Are you doing this just to embarrass me?"

"I've wanted to leave for a long time."

He clearly hadn't listened. He only told me to come home after the training, saying we could discuss the retirement home later.

Susan placed the keys beside my hand where Richard could see.

"Margaret, I'll move out today. Please don't fight because of me."

Richard took the keys back again.

"This has nothing to do with you. You don't have to leave."

Every time he asked Susan to stay, he made sure to do it in front of me. But when I was truly leaving, he hadn't even asked where I was going.

At 4 p.m., I finished my last shift at the community hospital. My colleagues had set out a little cake in the staff room, with the words Wishing You Well on Your Next Journey on top.

Thirty years earlier, I'd rushed home after work to give my feverish son his medicine. Ten years earlier, I'd gone home to change my mother-in-law's incontinence pads. Today, as I walked out after my shift, all I had to remember was my own luggage.

When Richard caught up with me in the staff room, Susan was still trailing behind him. He saw my retirement certificate on the table and stared at it for a few seconds.

"Why didn't you tell me you were retiring?"

I'd spent 3 months planning his retirement party. He hadn't even known when my last day at work would be.

"If I'd told you, would you have come back to spend it with me?"

The question stopped him short. Then he noticed I'd changed into the outreach team's navy-blue uniform.

"It's fine if you want to get away for a while. Just come home when the training's over. There's plenty to do at home."

The program coordinator came in just then and handed me an ID badge showing my 12-month service term. Richard's expression finally changed.

"What do you mean, 12 months?"

His phone chimed as soon as he finished speaking. On the screen was a notice from the court confirming that my divorce petition had been filed.

Court: The divorce case of petitioner Margaret Sutton against respondent Richard Bennett has been formally filed.

Richard stared at the word "respondent", then looked at the ID badge on my chest.

The program coordinator urged me along from the doorway. "Ms. Sutton, the vehicle's here. You'll be on the team's schedule for the next year. You won't be coming back to this city for hospital shifts."

Richard's hand stopped halfway toward my luggage.