Martha tapped her foot on the linoleum floor of our new house. It was huge and beautiful with a spiraling stair way and five bedrooms, nothing like the aparments and room she and her children would live in after the divorce but that's not the part of this story. Why was she tapping her foot? Well it was 11 o'clock, dinner was made, her three kids were in bed and she had not yet eaten waiting for him. She knew where he was.

Finnally Martha had had enough. She stood picking up the enchiladas and walked out the back door to the trash cans. Lifting the black lid reluctantly she dumped every single enchilada in the trash and walked back in holding the glass dish. She'd washed the dishes and sat in the silence of the night in front of the TV a glass of wine in hand. That's when her computer geek little younger than 40 year old husband came in.

He jumped when he saw her,"Hey honey where's the food?"

"Joe, where were you? And your food, the racoons will be having it instead."

"I was at work. What do you mean by that? You threw it away?"

"You were supposed to be off of work six hours ago, Joe."

"They've been making me work late."The man shifted and headed to the fridge to see what there was to eat.

The woman sighed,"Fine, Joe."

And she went up to bed, emotionally drained.

***
A few weeks later Joe's pager buzzed in the middle of the night waking both Martha and him.

"Who's that?" Martha groaned rolling over tiredly.

"No one, M." He replied sliding out of bed,"I'll be back."

"Mmm."

A few minutes later a car started in the drive way stirring the woman to awareness. She got up checked our rooms and left the house watching her husband car speed off. She wondered where in the world he was going at this time but her sleepy mind disregarded it until the morning.
***
Martha came home from work early one day, got the mail out of the mail box and as she dropped her bags and coat figured she'd check her email. As she opened the pager bill she opened the email she shared with her husband and saw an email from a Vanessa. She frowned, she didn't know a Vanessa and she didn't know of one from when she talked to him.

She clicked on the resent one and gaped at the words on the screen.

Last night was amazing, glad you could get away from that wife of yours.

Love,
Nessa.

Martha closed her eyes and turned to the pager bill in her hand. It was far higher than it'd been a month ago, and several were to a number unknown to her. She picked up the house phone from it's cradle and dialed the number.

"Hello?"A female voice answered,"Hello?"

"Hi,"Martha replied,"I'm looking for a Vanessa?"

"Um I'm Vanessa."

Martha gulped and hung up. How could she have been so blind? She should have known he'd do this to her.
***
"Okay, Mr.D. You are ordered by the family court of Pomona to pay your wife child support from your three children and possible alimony. Do you understand the court order?"

"Yes."The man mumbled looking sideways at his now ex-wife.

"Then this divorce is final." The judge slammed the mallet down and left the stand.

"Well Ms.R, it's nice doing business with you and good luck." The attorney shook Martha's hand and they left her ushering the two older kids out and holding a baby in hand.

***

"Mom, Amanda's crying again." Megan, Martha's eldest told her holding the young girl in hand.

"Okay, Meggie um give her to Grandma okay?"

The little girl nodded her skinny body straining to hold her younger sister. Martha looked after them closing her eyes, Joe hadn't given her the child-support again and Amanda hadn't eaten properly all month. She was now living with her parents and younger sister and it was helpful but still a struggle as her and the kids slept in the same room together. This was all thanks to that cheating bastard, Martha shook her head as she tried to find food to give her hungry children. How did it turn out this way for her?