Alright girls, here's a true story that could happen to any one of us. It could even happen to a guy for that matter, only it didn't, it happened to me. I burned our house down.
My ex-husband and I, back when we were first married, had rented a cute little two story town home and were quite excited to start our wonderful life together. The following events should have been a sign of our future marital collapse and even though my husband was 2000 miles away at the time of this fire, I still blame it on him, as I do our failed marriage.
Anyway, we had been in the home less than a year when we learned we were pregnant. We were excited of course, but as our luck generally went, our due date and my husbands departure for a six month naval deployment were exactly the same.
Depending on how you look at it, I suppose we were fortunate that I was able to deliver early so my husband could be there for the experience. Due to my narrow hips and pubescently small vagina, my doctor recommended a C-section and we were able to schedule the birth (surgery!!) ten days prior to him leaving for the Middle East... my husband, not the doctor of course.
Anyway, I had the surgery, had the baby and screamed bloody murder when the epidural wore off. My timid and spineless husband was unable to take emergency leave, so I went and stayed with my mother in Florida to recover from my traumatic experience.
While dead beat dad was on his cruise, my mother had to fly from Florida to Virginia, rent a car, and drive me and my three children (two from a previous marriage ages 3 and 7, and one from sailor boy barely a week old) 1000 miles back to Florida where I sweat my butt off for three weeks "re cooperating".
I then drove back from Florida and waited for my mother-in-law to meet me at the house so she could follow me to return the rental car and bring me back home. More on my mother-in-law at a later time and place.
Anyway, while I'm waiting for her to get to the house, I go in to change the baby and check on the cat and fumble through the pile of mail. I noticed at some point the cat had jumped on top of the fish tank and knocked the cover on the ground.
Now this was a pretty big fish tank, and my husbands pride and joy. Some fish were obviously now missing and I knew immediately my mother-in-law had not come by like she was supposed to to feed the cat, feed the fish and water the dead plants.
Anyway, I hear her honking out front and quickly placed the tank cover back on and flipped on the light switch to do a quick body count to see exactly how much trouble me and the cat were going to be in when daddy got home. Only the light didn't work. So I thought great, I've got to go out and not only replace the missing fish but figure out how to change the light bulb in the tank cover as well.
My mother in laws incessant honking made me forget about the scene of the crime for a moment as I grabbed the kids, the keys, and the rental agreement. Did I mention mom honking instead of helping?
Anyway, we get to the rental place and switch the car seats and head back home. I zone out as mom complains about the time she had to take off work to do this for me. I'm startled back to reality as a fire truck comes screaming past us and absolutely horrified when I realize where they are headed.
Yes, to our home where condensation in the fish tank lid shorted out in the broken light bulb. I had "caused" the fire when I energized the light but failed to turn it off when I realized it wasn't working. However, in my defense, I didn't realize the bulb had actually physically broken open causing said disaster.
The cat was saved by the nice fireman, but I wasn't going to be buying any new fish anytime soon. Everything was completely destroyed, including the suitcases full of clothes I had dropped off in the foyer before returning the rental car. Yeah, that one hurt. Ironic that I was already packed and had the timing been different, I would have actually saved enough clothes for myself and the children for three weeks, but as it were...we had absolutely nothing.
My husband was not allowed to come home because he said he was to valuable to the ship and they couldn't afford to lose key qualified people. I had always told him that motivation and hard work was way overrated, especially in the military.
Anyway, my mother could not take any more time off work so we had to stay with the mother-in-law. I guess I've erased the experience from my mind, but I do know that it was even more traumatic than the C-section I had gone through a month earlier.
Basically I was homeless, weak and had to single handily rebuild our life while daddy was out globe trekking. He wasn't even in the real military. He was in the navy, basically serving aboard a huge floating taxi cab for the marines, the real men of the armed forces.
I know I shouldn't be bitter, but I am and always will be. I know that fire destroyed more than just our home, it destroyed our marriage. To his credit, he never once blamed me for the fire or for the loss of his precious fish. Doesn't matter, I know what he really thinks and that makes him just as guilty. I do know he wished the cat hadn't made it out alive. He always hated and mistreated that cat, and the cat finally got even!
» left by Anonymous (1 year 344 days ago.)
You poor girl, i feel for you myla. Love that you find a way to blame your husband for this. isn't always the man's fault in most cases, even when they aren't there? Respond to this comment
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