Acts of Desperation(11)

I walked through the doors and into the bustling indoor sports center. I scanned the area for Sarah and the boys. Buzzers were going off as games were wrapping up, and adults and children shuffled around looking for their fields as new games were starting. Multiple soccer balls were rolling on the beaten up linoleum floor as children warmed up with their teammates, the smell of popcorn and sweat permeated the air. I spotted Will and Sam, but no Sarah.

I walked up to them. “Hey, buddies. Where’s Mommy?” I asked.

Their heads turned and their faces instantly lit up. Sam said, “Aunt Sember! What are you doin’ here?”

“I came here to see you two of course.” I patted his curly, blond locks. “Holy cow buddy, what did you do, grow two inches since I saw you last?” His face lit up with pride. Sam was two years younger than Will, but now at five years old he was only about an inch shorter than his big brother. “Where’s Mommy?” I asked. With as protective as Sarah was with Sam and Will, warning bells were going off in my head. It was out of character for her to leave the kids alone.

“She said she had to go potty and to stay put,” Sam said, pointing straight down to the ground with his hands, mimicking a gesture I’d seen my sister do a million times.

Then, from behind me, I heard Sarah’s voice. “Hey, glad you made it.”

“No problem,” I said turning around. Then, I noticed something in her demeanor was off, and her eyes were red. “What’s wrong?” I whispered.

Before she had a chance to respond, Sam slammed himself into her hip. “Momma! You’re back!”

She grunted and wrapped an arm around him. “Of course I’m back, silly. Where else would I be? I said I just needed to go potty,” she said.

“Why you cryin’, Momma?” He looked up at her with his big blue eyes, tilting his head, innocently confused. “You didn’t have a n’accident did ya? Did Daddy have to go, too?” he asked.

“Oh I was just sneezing—I think I’m catching Will’s cold, that’s all,” she said. “And, Daddy couldn’t remember where the potties were, can you believe that? He had an emergency,” she said.

Anders had long suffered from irritable bowel syndrome. Earlier on in their relationship, Sarah learned the hard way that garlic was a trigger for Anders when she almost killed him with a pot of homemade potato soup. She misread the recipe and added an entire bulb of garlic instead of a clove. Consequently, he spent the rest of the night in the bathroom. So, the kids knew that if Anders said he needed to go the bathroom then they needed to get out of the way.

“Daddy’s so silly.” He giggled. “He should have gone potty before he left the house.”

“I think you’re right.” She looked down to Sam and smiled then looked over to Will, “You’re all set to go in, buddy. Field B.”

“Ok, Mommy,” Will said. He grabbed his ball and ran out onto the field.

She looked at Sam. “You sit right here with me, ok baby?” She patted the bleacher next to her.

He scooted up next to her. “Momma, can I play with your phone?” he asked. She reached into her pocket and handed it over without a moment’s thought.

I waited until Sam was preoccupied in his game. “So, what did he do?” I asked, assuming Anders was to blame for her appearance.

Sarah leaned into me. “He grabbed my arm and was pulling me aside. He was starting to cause a scene, and I didn’t want to scare the kids so I told them I was going to the bathroom. Will was already kicking his ball around, and not really paying attention, but Sammy was there and saw it. His eyes got so wide…” She took a deep breath. “He backed me up against the wall by the bathrooms, and got right up in my face, and kept repeating for me to call off my lawyer.”

“Why is he pushing that so hard? He was the one who’s been cheating on you all along. I’d think he’d want out,” I asked.

“He doesn’t want out.” She laughed. “It’s only because it’s cheaper and easier for him to stay married to me. Seriously, why wouldn’t he want to keep me around so he can have me cook, clean, and take care of everything else while he plays and does whatever he wants? It’s all about money and has nothing to do with loving me or the kids,” she said, shaking her head and her voice raised an octave louder than its normal tone. “He keeps calling Chuck an idiot and says I won’t get anything better financially than what he’s offering.”

“He’s still representing himself, I assume.”

“He sure is.”

“Well, I highly doubt that his offer is the best you’ll get,” I said.

“I hope so. He’s made so much money these last couple of years, and he’s offering me barely enough to get by. I don’t believe him, and I refuse to stop the divorce even if he does scream in my face every chance he gets. I just won’t,” she said, taking a shaky breath and looking out to the field. “And there he is now. Look at him, it’s soccer practice for seven year olds. He acts like it’s training for the Olympics.”

I looked out onto the field and was struck by Anders’s growing midsection. His t-shirt, which normally would have fallen straight down to his pants, now protruded out and mimicked a second trimester pregnant belly. Even his jawline was noticeably different. He always had a weak chin but it was almost nonexistent now—it simply melded into his neck. He really had packed on some pounds in the last few months.