Chapter 5 - Picking Up the Pieces
The weekend that followed was the longest of my life.
Daniel didn't come back to the house; he checked into an extended-stay hotel downtown after I sent him a text message outlining our terms for immediate separation. He tried calling twice on Saturday, but I didn't pick up. My focus was entirely on Mia.
Children are remarkably resilient, but they also absorb far more than we give them credit for. On Saturday morning, Mia refused to take off her blue knit hat, even indoors. She kept touching the bald spots near her ears, looking at herself in the bathroom mirror with sad, bewildered eyes.
“Mommy, will my hair ever grow back?” she asked softly while sitting on the edge of the bathtub as I washed her face.
I knelt down, taking her small, soft hands in mine. I smiled as warmly as I could, pushing down the lump in my throat.
“Of course it will, my sweet girl,” I said, kissing her knuckles. “Human hair is magic. It always grows back stronger and shinier than before. Do you know what else? We are going to do something super fun today. We are going to buy the coolest hats, the most colorful headbands, and we are going to pamper ourselves like absolute queens.”
Mia’s lips curled into a tiny, hesitant smile. “Can we get ice cream too?”
“Three scoops,” I promised. “With rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream.”
We spent Saturday afternoon at the Magnificent Mile. We went to a children's specialty hat boutique where the kind owner, an older woman named Mrs. Gable, listened to our story with tears in her eyes. She didn't charge us a single cent for the four gorgeous silk caps and soft cotton beanies we picked out, gently placing a handmade velvet flower pin on the side of a bright pink cap just for Mia.
By Sunday evening, the heavy cloud hanging over our house had lifted just a fraction. Mia was laughing again, running around the living room with her new hats, pretending to be a superhero instead of a victim.
But I knew that putting our lives back together would require more than just shopping trips and ice cream. On Monday morning, while Mia was happily playing in her room, I picked up my phone and dialed the number of one of the top family law attorneys in Chicago: Victoria Vance.
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“Mrs. Hale,” Victoria said after listening intently to a concise summary of the events, including the assault and the corporate infidelity. “You have an exceptionally strong case. Not only can we pursue an expedited divorce with full custody and a favorable asset division, but we also have grounds to file a civil suit against both your husband and his secretary for emotional distress and assault on a minor.”
“Let's do it all,” I said firmly. “I want everything locked down before he even has time to react.”
