Sunshine After The Rain

Chapter One

Sophie looked at the glass of red wine set on the table near where Jason was sitting. The dining table was worn and near death when his mother had given it to them as a housewarming present. 'The spite gift', Sophie always called it, because the woman had more money than she knew what to do with and still picked it up at a garage sale despite Sophie sending her pictures of her dream dining room table that had nothing in common with the one she received.

Now everything was reaching full circle on the giant square table that took up the entire room. Sophie supposed that's how it had always been for her. She was the circle in a family of squares, never able to fit in despite her strongest efforts. Now Jason would ask her for a divorce at the ghastly table and Sophie wasn't sure if she had relief he was finally man enough to say the words or saturated with an overpowering dread of the uncertain future.

With great reluctance, Sophie sat in the chair in front of her glass. Him pouring wine for her was the most tender gesture he'd performed in at least six months.

Though she'd never played the game before, Sophie understood the rules. Hell, she'd even searched it online to better see it coming once her suspicions of his affair deepened.

Step One: Plan how to best break up with someone

Sophie had noticed him planning. She'd expected this moment coming for the last few weeks, maybe longer. There'd even been one moment the week before where she thought, 'This is it. This is when he ends our marriage.' Maybe she'd exaggerated, or, most likely, Jason lost the courage.

Step Two: Remain calm

Jason had been defensive with her for a while, but two weeks ago acted eerily calm. Not kind, just quiet. He stopped picking fights, did the small chores she asked him to do without making a big deal of it. Even dropped the kids off at school a few times.

Step Three: Be honest

This was the part she was perhaps most frightened of. Sophie would rather him just tell her they were over, get up and get the fuck out. She'd seen enough signs to know Jason was having an affair. She was in denial at first, but it soon became too obvious to overlook. He'd met someone else, and she didn't care where or who, only when. How long had they had played her for a fool? How long had she been raising their children while he lay in another woman's bed?

All she cared about was that they'd gone from a blissfully happy marriage their neighbors were jealous of to him getting up and leaving the room to reply to texts. He'd changed his password, began dressing up more for business meetings and came home late. It'd all transpired so instantly that Sophie still felt the whiplash.

Step Four: Stick to your guns

Sophie had no intention of resisting him with a divorce. When she first sensed the approaching doom, she'd considered begging him to choose their family; to fight for what he once cherished and repair the damage.

Jason was her first boyfriend. They'd met her Freshman year of college. He was in his third year and Sophie fell desperately in love with him right away. She'd been more or less invisible throughout high school due to her being the most socially awkward person the world had ever seen. No one had ever asked her out on a single date in her life, so when Jason began flirting with her, Sophie assumed it would be a trick like it had been in the past. But when he did ask her out, he showed and they'd been together ever since.

People assumed they wouldn't last once she became pregnant after a year of dating. They scolded her when she left college junior year because having a baby and going to class full time wasn't working. They were suspicious when he moved them to the city he grew up in after he'd graduated so he could work at his dad's law firm.