AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It came as a massive shock to both of us. We were only nineteen when she was born. I remember how scared Eden was to even tell me the news. I suspected something was wrong because of the way she’d been kinda quiet and not her usual bubbly self for a few days before she told me.
She finally confessed after taking multiple pregnancy tests. I couldn’t believe it, but I was anything but disappointed. Shocked, yes. But I’d always wanted a bunch of kids. I just didn’t think it was going to be before I even turned twenty years old and did anything with my life.
In saying that, the whole process brought us closer. We were young, but we both knew what we wanted from each other. It just came earlier than we thought.
I couldn’t get enough of Eden while she was pregnant. She was so cute and sexy, it still stirs me up to this day even though we’re not together anymore, and haven’t been for years.
We stayed together another five years after our daughter was born. We never had a fight about it, we just drifted apart. We were both so young and neither of us had experienced the world or had been out of our own little bubble — that played a huge part. Eden wanted to broaden her horizons when she finished her degree in design. She started working for an events business, learning how to host and decorate local weddings. She’d worked hard trying to manage the baby with help from both of our parents and our families, with me working and finishing my business degree. That part took a toll.
Just after Blake’s fifth birthday, we decided to call it quits, both citing we were better as friends.
By then I was working full-time at the distillery and things were tough.
It felt fucking hard. Being so busy we just didn’t know how to come together anymore, and I plunged a lot of my time into trying to prove myself at work, taking charge of the bottling process, and trying to be the best father I could for Blake.
We both put work and parenthood before our marriage.
I also never wanted to hold her back from doing other things she wanted to do.
We both cried when we signed the divorce papers. It was the saddest fucking day of my life because I still had a deep love and respect for her. But again, we were probably too young to get married, just months after Blake was born. We didn’t know what the hell we were doing.
Divorce papers.
Another thing that’s been keeping me up at night… A recent discovery I’ve made after searching for the papers. We’ve been ‘divorced’ for three years.
Eden asked for a copy of them when I saw her at the local Bake n’ Shake recently. The Bassett women — like most of the good folk of Stoney Creek — did their part and baked cupcakes and treats as well as displayed some new merch from the distillery. It was all to support the local highschool annual camp.
Now, Eden is applying for her new passport as her old one is in her maiden name. Her legal name is still Bassett, and I haven’t had the gall to ask if she’s going to keep it that way, even after all these years. It was during the rummage for the paperwork in my home office — somewhere buried at the back of the filing cabinet — that I found them.
My heart hammered in my chest, and my palms felt unnaturally clammy as I realized what I was looking at. I got the shock of my life.
She’s still my wife.
The papers were never filed.
I had one fucking job to do… then again, I’ve never been very good at administrative tasks.
I‘m surprised I even found them since it’s been years and I had no reason to pull them out. Both of our signatures are still there in black and white — I just forgot to file the paperwork. She asked me to do it when she had to go out of town for a few days, granted leaving me in charge was red flag number one. It was right after we got together with one of her lawyer friends who was just out of grad school, she gave us some advice and a look over the marital settlement agreement we had come up with. We did everything ourselves rather than go through the expense of lawyers that would charge a fortune. We agreed upon which assets to split, which to keep, a parenting plan for our daughter and splitting our joint bank account. Everything was amicable, we hid nothing. Eden navigated the whole complicated process online; she’d printed the forms and checklists to make sure nothing was left out. We filed the petition with the court, it was just a matter of our local jurisdiction reviewing our paperwork, and then the court-mandated waiting period to pass before we received our divorce decree. That would have made things official.
Oops.
I’m not even sure how that little detail could have slipped my mind, but here they are — unlodged — and very much pointing out the glaringly obvious; we’re still married.
I’ve no idea how to tell her. And I don’t know how mad she’s going to be. Eden is pretty easy going for the most part, but this is next level. Are court documents this old even valid anymore? All good questions.
Luckily, she hasn’t gotten even close to marrying anyone else in the past five years since we split.
That could've been precarious, since she’s still unknowingly married to me.
I’ve never gotten close to remarrying either. While I have had my share of women since we split, nothing serious has ever stuck. I spent the first couple of years after the divorce solely concentrating on Blake’s needs, only having a couple of one night stands here and there. It wasn’t a priority to meet anyone new; my daughter was always my number one focus. We share Blake fifty-fifty so being there for her was and still is paramount. We both wanted to make things as normal as possible for our daughter.
The fact we’re still very good friends — and divorced each other in the nicest way we knew how — still baffles a lot of people. It’s not normal, I know that. Most people don’t have that experience.
I think about my eldest brother, Grayson. He’s thirty-eight and just went through a hell of a time with his divorce. His ex-wife made things really difficult, going for the jugular and everything in between. It eventually got sorted out, thanks to Hartley Chambers — who Grayson coincidentally had a hook-up with before he knew she was his divorce lawyer. They’re together now and he’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him.
My second eldest brother, Gabriel, who’s thirty-five, has also been divorced. His wife left him years ago when his daughter, Trinity — now five — was a few months old. He raised her by himself and I have so much respect toward him for that.
It seems unfortunate that all three of us have been through a divorce.
