That night I sat across from Derek at our kitchen table. “Are you my partner first,” I asked quietly, “or Pamela’s son first?”
He looked exhausted. “I am both.”
“That is not sustainable,” I replied. “When our stability is threatened, who do you choose?”
He admitted he feared upsetting his mother because she had always used guilt to control him. Hearing him say that did not erase the damage, but it clarified the dynamic.
When Pamela later announced she had already moved her belongings into the master bedroom closet, I packed a small suitcase.
“Where are you going?” Derek asked, alarmed.
“To my sister Rachel Bennett’s home in Dayton,” I answered. “Until this is resolved.”
Pamela laughed from the hallway. “She cannot handle real family.”
I looked at Derek one last time. “If you want a marriage with me, you fix this with action, not apologies.”
At Rachel’s house I waited. Without me maintaining order, the household in Columbus deteriorated quickly. Gerald complained about laundry. Brittany argued about internet speeds. Pamela called Derek ungrateful.
Three days later Derek phoned me. “I told them they have to leave,” he said, voice shaking.
“And?” I asked.