The Seven Stages of Happily Ever After

The First Crack In Emma Baker's Heart

The First Crack in Emma Baker's Heart

May 10, 1999

For the first time in four years, everything was quiet. The only noise that could be heard in the bungalow on the end of Main Street was the sound of Ethan Baker's footsteps on the worn hardwood floors, as he treaded back and forth from the staircase to the front door. He was oblivious to the little eyes watching him under the table in the kitchen.

Emma Baker, all of five years old, watched from behind the leg of a chair, sniffing quietly as she watched. Her mother, Ellen Baker, stood stiffly on the porch, her eyes trained for the taxi that would be coming down the road any moment.

Matt Baker, older than his nine years would lead anyone to believe, slid under the table quietly beside of his little sister. He had always been protective of her, from the moment he held her (with his Dad watching closely.) It was Matt who would always check in on Emma when she was scared from her parents yelling until their Dad would come read them a story to put them to sleep; and it was Matt then, who held her hand as she watched her parents.

Ethan passed his wife without a glance or a word. His heart was in pieces as he placed the last bag beside the curb, just in time for the yellow taxi to round' the corner. He glanced back toward the house, to be sure neither of his children were near before looking back to his wife. How had he never noticed the change? How could he never see that the woman he fell in love with at college was no longer before him? His poor children. How had he never realized how horrible she was to them? The woman she'd become was focused on the money, always wanting more than he could give. She would complain that she married a doctor and didn't understand why they couldn't afford all the luxuries she wanted. He couldn't pin point when she had become this stranger, but that was what she was to him now. Maybe she had been since Emma was born.

Ellen never met his eye, only watching stoically as the taxi driver loaded her bags into the trunk. She turned up her nose, glancing at her husband one last time, before reaching for the door handle. "Goodbye Ethan." She stated, her voice firm.

"Goodbye Ellen." He replied, squaring his shoulders against the dull ache in his chest. He knew this day was coming; though he never wanted to see it. His Mother told him not to marry Ellen, stating she was "too unsettled" for the life he wanted. He never would have imagined the Ellen he knew could become such a selfish, and manipulative person. Maybe he'd only ignored the signs. As Ellen opened the door, footsteps pounded against the porch.

"Mommy!" Emma screamed, her tiny legs racing down the steps toward her Mother. Ethan felt his heart tear in two as Ellen never spared her only daughter a glance. She simply shut the door as Emma raced toward her and motioned for the taxi driver to go. Emma screamed for her as the motor sputtered, leaving a trace of smoke in the air, and the taxi disappeared down the road.

"Sweet girl," Ethan muttered, reaching for the child as she screamed for her Mother. He felt his heart harden toward the woman he once loved as he wiped the tears from Emma's red cheeks and took her into his arms. Emma gripped him, hiccupping from all the crying. Ethan turned toward his home, finding that Matt was sitting on the front steps and feeling another punch to the gut as he realized his son had witnessed the whole thing. Unlike his little sister, Matt was not crying. His small fists were clenched, and his face was red as he looked up to his father.

Ethan was at a loss for words, or actions as he sunk down next to his son on the steps, holding Emma as she cried.

He'd prepared for this day since Ellen told him three days before she was leaving. She wanted a divorce and would sign whatever papers she needed to in order to give Ethan full custody of their children. She couldn't handle another day in their "small" home, slaving away for kids she never even wanted to have. They had fought relentlessly since the day Emma was born; and still, Ethan felt the deepest love for her.

That all changed the moment he saw, for the first time, how heartless she was to their children. He couldn't imagine seeing Emma screaming, and not even turning around. He would go to the end of the earth for the two children beside of him. He wrapped his arm around Matt, clinging both of them to him.

He knew this was a pivotal moment in their lives, and yet, he had no clue on how to handle it. So, they sat there for thirty minutes, until Emma said she was hungry, and then they went for pizza.

It wasn't until he was putting the kids to bed that Emma asked him what he had been expecting she would.

Ethan tucked her in, checked for monsters under the bed, and in the closet, then read her favorite bedtime story. She remained quiet throughout the entire bedtime routine, and when he leaned down to kiss her forehead, she whispered, "Is Mommy coming back?"

Ethan felt a dull ache in his chest, as he looked down into her big, blue eyes. No one had prepared him for a question like this. He didn't know anyone who had ever dealt with their five-year old asking a question like this. He never read any parenting books, and he didn't know how important this moment would be to his daughter until years later.

"No, sweetheart." He replied honestly, sitting beside of her and taking her hand into his. She sniffed, looking down at her hand in his, before looking back up to him, eyes filled with tears.

"Are you going to leave too?" She whispered, a tear falling down her ruddy cheek.

Ethan inhaled sharply, feeling the kick to his gut resonate in every part of his body. He shook his head, squeezing her hand. "No, sweet Emma, I'm never going to leave you."

She nodded, laying down and closing her eyes, reassured by her Daddy. Ethan shut off her lamp, and exited the room, peering in at his son as he slept in his room. He would keep his promise, till the day he died. No matter what.