Eva Hedgecock

Midlife Magic – prologue

Hannah Travis was methodical, prepared and therefore rarely surprised. But as she sat at her kitchen table and broke the seal of the envelope, she was surprised with her lack of feeling. The mediator, a kind 50- something man named Hank, had told her to expect documents this week and he’d been right on time. She knew what the papers said. She and Darek had signed them in his office. She, with tears blurring the letters on the page and Darek with quiet determination.

Hannah knew Darek well enough to guess at his feelings. Over the years she had watched him study out options and carefully weigh decisions. His process was sometimes lengthy but when he arrived at an answer there was no turning back. She had thought his decision to end the marriage and erase their family would be the time when his logic and planning would work to her benefit. Surely as he added the costs, both financial and emotional- he would see the columns could only add up to reconciliation.

But she had been wrong. From the evening he turned to her in their bed and calmly explained he wanted a divorce, to this moment as she held the finalized papers, he had been civil, even kind and absolutely unwavering. 

Their children- now essentially Hannah’s children-didn’t understand why they wouldn’t see daddy anymore. Success as a young man in his accounting firm had meant late nights and long hours and they were accustomed to minimal time with their father. To be truthful, even when he was home he wasn’t often present. But there was a sense of safety in knowing your father slept in the next room. There was a belief that daddy equaled protection and worth and Derek had pulled that belief out from under them all. 

He’d given her a sizable divorce settlement. He encouraged her to seek a good therapist for herself and the children as he acknowledged this change would be upsetting for all. Then Derek proposed monthly child support and alimony while he quietly but firmly insisted that she accept sole custody.

Hannah softly sobbed as he explained that he had married too young and had a life to live that wasn’t conducive to a family. His eyes were cast down as he expressed how truly sorry he was for the heartbreak and for a brief moment Hannah had thought he would change his mind. Then she had watched as resolve wrapped around him like a cloak and his shoulders straightened and she had known it was over. 

For six months she wept in her pillow and bargained in her mind. She’d barely eaten or slept and the only time her emotions had settled had been while holding her children. But now, with papers in hand and the weight of finality settling across her chest, Hannah Travis felt the strangest thing- the beginnings of peace. Sitting in a house that now felt cold and a city that no longer seemed like hers, Hannah had a singular thought. Perhaps it was time to go home…