OCR Text |
Show THE MALEVOLENT SEVEN 3 He rolled over and went to sleep. I went upstairs to my office and my bedroll. I hadn't realized how good it was to be alone. The next morning he was gone when I woke up. I did his wash and carefully folded the clothes. I packed up all his belongings and drove the truck to his office. I parked it, locked it, and put the keys in the mail drop. I took my bicycle and rode home. It was July 2, our twelfth wedding anniversary. I have not tried to reconcile the marriage again. There are still times when I miss him desperately and even reach for the phone. But I remember that bike ride home and hang up before I finish dialing his number. The second demon was Money. The moment he walked out the door our gross income dropped to the hard reality of my net income ($936 a month). I had $12 for food and gas for the next three weeks until payday. I rode my bicycle to work and spent hours conjuring up meals made from canned goods in the back of the cupboard. When payday came I still had $3 left in my wallet. From some tough experiences in the past, I realized that credit cards or small unsecured loans were not the solutions to my cash flow problems. It would have been so easy to charge purchases I couldn't pay for now, but felt I really needed. Eventually I would hit my credit limit. I faced enough pressure and stress without adding the burden of debt. Living within the limits" of my income became imperative. One of the first things I did that first morning alone was to write to all our joint credit card accounts and close them. I still had a VISA account in my name only. During my lunch break I went to the bank and discussed my situation with my banker. I had my name taken off the checking account. When payday finally came I opened an account of my own. My banker also gave me some sound advice regarding a fair property settlement and recommended a lawyer. |