it was a normal Sunday, the day after my mom's birthday in June. after church, my mom, my sister, and I decided to take a drive to Sonic, an hour away from our home. my dad never joins us, so it was just the three of us. little did I know that this day would be etched in my memory forever. we had a great meal at Sonic, i remember sitting in the backseat of the car, looking out the window and it was a peaceful moment, one that didn't last long. my sister suddenly turned to my mom and said these words - "I found some emails from dad." the expression on my mom's face changed, and we all fell into an eerie silence. my sister had found out the day before, but she didn't want to ruin my mom's birthday. she didn't want my mom to feel upset or sad on her special day. but now, sitting in the car, my mom's curiosity got the better of her, and she needed to know what my sister had discovered. i remember feeling a sense of dread and unease as my mom scrolled through the emails. my dad was a very good person, or at least that's what I thought. we never really talked about him much. he was always there, but we never had a close relationship. so when my mom read the emails, she was completely shocked. the emails were from different women, sending him explicit photos and messages. and to make matters worse, my dad had replied to them, asking for more and even asking for their address, implying that he would meet up with them. my mom was understandably pissed. we made the hour-long drive back home, the car was filled with an uncomfortable silence. i couldn't believe what I had just seen. it was disgusting. these women were completely naked in the photos, and they showed things that i had never seen before. it was traumatizing for me, to see such graphic images. my sister and i didn't know what to say, we were in shock, and my mom was trying to process everything. the rest of the day was a blur. my mom confronted my dad, and he kept denying everything. even though my mom had many pictures and proof of it saved. he didn't try to explain or apologize. he just said he was leaving for work and that was it. my family was broken in an instant. my mom told him he should leave and never come back. (this was because this wasn't the first time he was caught emailing women or looking at pronagraphy. he had done this various times before for years..but my mom always forgave him, probably because me and my sister were young.) since then my mom stopped talking to my father even when he was home, she stopped cooking too. this was a difficult and emotional time for all of my family. that day in June, after my mom's birthday, was a turning point in my life. no one in my family could look at my dad the same way again. (he's a christian and follower of God who always serves in church and this is what he's most well known for) my family felt like he had betrayed the family, always acting to be all holy but then we find out this. it was hard to come to terms with that. i realized that i didn't really know my dad at all. since then its always a reminder to me that things are not always as they seem and that people can disappoint you in the most unexpected ways. it was a traumatic experience for me to see those kinds of pictures of women...it was too graphic. they had their legs wide open revealing everything...
part two on thursday april 18th, 2024.
