Deadbeat Dads Read Online Free PDF Page B

me.”
    Becky leaned her head on my shoulder and hiccupped. “He…he left…just up and walked out…said he couldn’t live with me anymore…there…there…there’s someone else. He’s in love with his dental assistant…he…he wants to marry her. He said he hasn’t loved me….for a long time. Oh God, Erica, what am I going to do?”
    Bastard! What was going on with the men in this town? Were they taking discontent pills or something? I held my friend and didn’t speak. Yet, it didn’t surprise me. Fred followed the same pattern Johnny had - late nights, business trips, or in this case seminars, to keep up on the latest technology. Oh, I didn’t doubt Fred attended those seminars, but I wondered who went with him, his dental assistant no doubt. Poor Becky. She thought her marriage couldn’t possibly end this way. Didn’t she always say they had the perfect life together? She did everything Fred wanted and then some. Entertained the right amount, attended the right functions. Everything Fred expected a wife in their stature in society to be. Oh yeah, the signs were there all right, too bad Becky hadn’t seen them.
    “It won’t be easy, Beck, but trust me you’ll get through it just like the rest of us. I’ll be here for you, whatever you need, whenever you need me. Now come on , pull yourself together before the kids get home. When did Fred leave?”
    “A few minutes before you came in, he packed his bags and said he’s going to Las Vegas. He …he said I’d have the divorce papers in a couple of months.”
    Becky took a breath, swiped at her tears and blew her nose. “ I…I just can’t believe this. I…there was no…he never gave any indication that he wasn’t happy. We had a good life. I…” Becky slumped back on the couch, tears turning to sobs again.
    I knew Becky felt like someone kicked her in the gut because that’s how I felt. I hurt all over again watching her. “So he left it up to you to tell the kids, too. Nice.” I pulled Becky up. Sitting here crying wasn’t going to do a darn bit of good. “Come on let’s get a cup of coffee and talk about this.”
    Becky had depended on Fred for everything. The jerk even bought her clothes and sometimes did the grocery shopping. Becky didn’t go out except to school functions and to visit her parents and a rare visit to me. She had a car but Fred kept track of the mileage. Even Johnny wasn’t that bad. I had been free to do what I wanted during the day, shopping, volunteering, lunches at the club. At least I had some independence. Johnny knew me better than to lay down the law like Fred had. Sure, I wasn’t allowed to work, and Johnny expected me home and dinner on the table when he came in, whatever the hour. And, of course he expected me to pick up the kids after school.  Funny, since he left, the kids managed to get back and forth to school without my help. 
    Becky’s life consisted of taking her kids to school, sometimes grocery shopping and twice a month, Fred allowed her to have lunch at the club. Mighty nice of him. Of course, he made sure he knew exactly which days she’d be there. He didn’t want to chance running into her with his playmate. Everyone at the club probably knew about his affair. Since Johnny left, I hadn’t gone back. I wasn’t about to run into Babette, and the only club members left that spoke to me were Becky and Fred. Besides, on my salary I couldn’t afford the dues. Not that I much cared. I had better things to do than play tennis and golf.
    I made a pot of coffee and tried to calm Becky down. My friend needed to pull herself together. She had to tell the kids that Fred left. Not an easy task under any circumstances, but in Becky’s condition. I didn’t think she’d get through it.
    I had struggled to maintain my own composure and managed not to break down in front of Katie and Josh. Something told me that wouldn’t be the case with Becky. Worse, I had a feeling she’d expect me to explain to