NOT ANOTHER CHRISTMAS LOVE STORY

CHAPTERTHREE

The stage manager knocked on my dressing door to tell me I would be on in five minutes. I took a quick glance at the mirror one last time and muttered a prayer under my breath. I don't know what got me to accept this interview. My palms were sweaty, and I picked up a tissue to wipe it down, but it only got worse.

I rushed into the bathroom, and ran water on it, then dried it off. My anxiety level was skyrocketing today, and I needed to get done with this. I left the room and walked backstage, my microphone was placed on me, and I waited for my signal.

On stage, Adrienne was chatting with her audience about a new scandal between an actor and a supermodel, and once again I was reminded of the plenty of reasons why I hated talk shows. On his cue, the stage manager directed me onto the stage after Adrienne announced my name, and when I was seated, she announced another name. Aaron?

I turned to see him walking onto the stage, they shared a brief hug, and he sat next to me, arms around my neck. What was he up to? I came on this show to debunk everything Aaron agreed to. I was not a negligent wife or mother, neither was I abusive or unsupportive of his goals.

“Good day Jules, Aaron. I am so glad you could both make it today. I remember sending you a ton of emails, Jules. I was wondering if my assistant didn't send you enough, so we had to send more. One is never enough you know” Her sentence was replied with laughter from the audience and a chuckle from Aaron.

There was nothing funny about what she said or was doing, it was just a scheme to get people to listen to news that wasn't true. The show began, and a series of questions were asked and thrown at both of us. I answered in the logical way that I could, but Aaron twisted his response so that I also got to answer his questions.

“Aaron, the news on everyone's lips is that the divorce was not initiated by you, and you are against it. Is this true?” Adrienne was in business mode, but she still managed to send flirty looks to Aaron during the interview. How does she manage to do that, especially when the man isn't yet divorced?

Aaron reached out to hold my hands, and my whole body stiffened at his touch. He wasn't trying to be sorry like he had claimed to be earlier, but he was manipulating me. They planned this, to humiliate me on live television. He began to say, “I have wronged Jules in ways that I can not begin to explain, and I take full responsibility for my actions, but I would never want her to leave me. I love her so much”. He raised my hands to his lips, while maintaining eye contact and kissed them.

The audience cheered with a lot of awws and ahhs. I felt sick in my stomach, this was insane and uncalled for. He wasn't saying what he did wrong, and they acknowledged that. I looked around me, at Aaron, Adrienne, her backstage crew, and the audience. This was Aaron's life, the one he dreamt of….not mine. There was nothing I could say to make this man look bad in front of them.

Adrienne's shrill voice brought my attention back to the interview, “We love us a sweet man, and as we can see, he loves her so much”. They stood and roared with applause. I settled into my confusion, allowing my thoughts to trail around. I couldn't do this anymore, and I didn't care. I lost my job, my marriage, and now….my pride. I was stupid to come here.

The interview ended immediately, and I rushed into my dressing room, picked up my stuff and drove to the house. Toby was seated in the living room watching the kids channel with his nanny. I ran up the stairs, pulled out his suitcase and packed his clothes. I did the same with mine, and when I was done, Aaron arrived at the house.

“Jules! You can't do this. He is my child as well, and he needs his father. You cannot take him from me” He yelled, and it startled Toby, who had never seen his father angry. That was because Aaron was hardly home to even get upset. I rushed to his side and pulled him closer. I knew what Aaron could do when he was upset, and I didn't want a repeat of it with my son.

I motioned to the nanny to take the suitcases to my car, which she did with trembling hands. I pitied the poor girl, she was in the middle of the entire thing, and could not tell anyone or risk going to jail for breach of contract. “I am leaving here, away from you, your life and everything that deals with you, Aaron. I am done!”

He hurried towards us, but I was quicker and rushed to the door. “I need this Aaron. You don't want to see where you went wrong, and I can't suffer because of your nonchalance. Please, sign those papers”. I glanced at the place that I used to call home one last time. The living room where Aaron massaged my shoulders and legs when I came back from work, was the house Toby was meant to grow up in, learn to ride a bike, go to the middle school dance and then prom, graduation, and college. I soaked it all in and wiped a tear before it streaked down my cheek.

I looked at him once more, searching for answers to the millions of questions in my mind. “This is not over Jules, I won't go down without a fight”. He planted a kiss on his son, and I turned my heel to leave. We were never coming back again.