A Tense ReUnion

A short story about a man meeting his ex-wife for the first time after many years. The story revolves around the aftermath of an international rugby match and the title is a little play on words. If you don't know what rugby is check out some videos on the internet. It is an awesome and at times brutal sport. Again there is some reconciliation involved or was it indifference, I wrote but I am not sure.

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"Mum!" my son, Jacob, cried happily as he pushed past me and his way through the throng of parents and VIPs. I saw him wrap his large frame around somebody. There were a few clicks of cameras pointing in his direction and well they should.

My boy had made his winning debut for his country, a try and the Man of the Match award. As debuts go, it couldn't have gone better. Up to this point, I was bursting with pride. To be honest, I had been bursting with pride since he was offered his first professional rugby contract. All those early mornings and all those miles in the car going to training and matches felt worthwhile. At the time, I was sick to the teeth of it, playing chauffeur to a teenage wannabe rugby player. It is natural to feel this way. A few young players always fall to the wayside because their parents can't cope. Not me and not my son, an international rugby union player!

He had always been a big lad. He didn't get it from my side of the family. That was his mother's. Her father, before he died of a heart attack, was huge and a keen amateur rugby player. His uncle was a big semi-pro second row. I only got into rugby when I married Jacob's mother. I suppose, given his mother's family, it was only natural Jacob played rugby. He was a bit of a handful as a little boy, and rugby and his coaches instilled a sense of discipline in him that I never could.

Jacob released his mother and turned to face me. His joyous expression turned to one of nerves. A nervousness he never exposed in the build-up to the game. I could feel myself tense up and the woman standing next to me looked confused as Jacob and his mum approached.

Jacob's mum wasn't my wife. The woman standing next to me was. She had been my wife for eight years. She is an amazing woman. She never complained about playing second fiddle to Jacob's rugby. I was now in the process of making it up to her. I hadn't seen Jacob's mum in just over ten years.

Jacob's mum, Vivian, would what you would call a blonde bombshell of a woman. She always kept herself in shape, with large breasts, dressed well, and had a vivacious and flirtatious personality. She had always turned heads wherever she went. Today was no different. I could tell the men in the room, especially the press, were wondering who Jacob's mother was.

I wrapped an arm reassuringly around my wife's waist. She never got this attention from the press, and I could feel her comparing herself to Vivian. I intended to tell her later that between her and Vivian, the choice was easy. I would choose my wife every time. Vivian with her looks was the woman men dream about, but my wife was the woman who men only realise afterwards who they need as a wife.

As Vivian got closer, I could see that she looked older. Lines were around her eyes. I hadn't seen her since the divorce. I hadn't spoken to directly her since she left me for her lover.

"We're in love," is what she told me. "We're soulmates," she said driving her dagger through my heart further.

I knew about her affair. Her lover, Henry, was a major sponsor of Jacob's rugby club when he was a junior player before he got scouted by Northampton. Jacob's uncle, Vivian's younger brother played for the men's first time but was coming to the end of his playing career at the time. Vivian and the man she would leave me for must have met on one of the few occasions she watched her brother play. She would have been able to get into the sponsor's lounge because of him. I wasn't with her that day. Maybe I was at a tournament with Jacob, I don't know, but Vivian's behaviour changed after that.

She started going out with her friends more, dressed up to the nines and didn't come home until well past midnight. When she eventually did come home, she would always shower. Her phone became her prized possession. She never left it out of her sight and would stay downstairs sending messages until late into the night. She then would start arguments over nothing. She would belittle everything about me.

She probably thought she was being clever, but I knew early on something wasn't right. Our sex life dwindled and she became less than enthusiastic. With her late-night excursions with her friends, showering at odd times, and secretive messaging, you didn't have to be Einstein to work it out.

It was all classic cheating behaviour. That is what I found out when I went online for answers.

It was bad enough to do this to me, but it was affecting Jacob, so it had to stop. I managed to get hold of her phone and found all her messages to Henry, hidden under Henriette (Work). Of all Vivian's qualities, imagination wasn't one of them. Their messages sickened me, and they included nudes.

I confronted Vivian and of course, she was remorseful, she cried, she apologised, and she promised to finish with Henry.

Things then got better. I didn't want to divorce. I didn't want Jacob to grow up in a broken home like I did so I upped my game. I worked harder. We went to marriage counselling. Vivian began to constantly say, "I love you," to me, message sweet nothings to me, and buy my gifts. Our sex life improved and she became a more enthusiastic lover.

Love bombing they call it and just when I thought we were back to how we were, it all stopped. I just knew in my heart she had started seeing Henry again or she never stopped. She never stopped messaging Henry; she just got a new phone. I wasn't looking for it. Vivian forgot to put it on mute, and I heard it ping. I opened the drawer on her bedside table and found it. Vivian saw me with it and knew the game was up. After the, "We're in love," and "We're soulmates," I just looked her in the eye and told her we were done, and she needed to pack a suitcase and leave. She could go and live with her parents, brother or even Henry for all I cared. The funny thing was that I wasn't upset, I was just disappointed. Disappointed that the woman I thought I married wasn't the woman I was married to.

I pushed through the divorce quickly and because Vivian was still in the affair fog and was living in Henry's large and luxurious house, living the life I suppose she wanted, she gave me everything we had built together in our marriage.

After two years of therapy, I got through the other side. Then I met Sara, my wife, the woman who would become the love of my life. She was the woman who taught me what real love was.

From the day Vivian left I hadn't spoken to her unless it involved Jacob. Jacob was showered with gifts from Vivian and Henry. Henry promised Jacob would play for the men's first team one day. Jacob of course at a young age drank it up and thought Henry was "awesome," as he put it. I had kept the full horrors of what caused my and Vivian's marriage to fail from my son. So, Jacob was blissfully unaware that Henry was a snake and it felt like I was losing Jacob to Henry.

Then Jacob got scouted by Northampton and was given an offer to join their professional set-up. Henry and Vivian tried hard to persuade Jacob not to accept it. Jacob was confused. He couldn't understand why Henry and his mum would try and stop him from pursuing his dream. I could see he was struggling with the decision.

It was then I told him the truth about his mum and Henry. I told him opportunities like he had been given come once in a lifetime and he needed to take it. The Northampton scouts must have liked Jacob a lot because when they heard he was wavering, they worked hard to get him to join them. They thought they were competing against another professional team. Instead, it was a snake who feared he was losing control over Jacob. With relief, Jacob listened to me, the Northampton scouts, and the Northampton first-team coach, who astounded me with a call. A debut at eighteen for Northampton led to being called up to the England Under 20 team and now today his, full international debut. It was a true meteoric rise.

When Jacob heard the truth, and his mum inadvertently confirmed it, he cut Henry out of his life. Both Vivian and Henry were furious. I took some satisfaction from that—satisfaction from saving Jacob from being under their control.

"Hello, Vivian," I said tersely to my ex-wife. "This is Sara, my wife," Introducing mother to stepmother. "Sara, this is Vivian, Jacob's mother." I wasn't going to make a scene; this was Jacob's day.

"Hello," Sara said warily to Vivian.

"Hello," Vivian greeted Sara with a weak smile.

"I'll give you a little space to catch up," Sara told me considerately, kissing me on the cheek and breaking the tense atmosphere. As she went to walk away, I pulled her back and kissed her lovingly on the lips. This public expression of telling my wife, "I choose you," made her smile and her eyes flash with love.

"She is attractive," Vivian told me as Sara walked away.

"Yes, she is everything I never knew I wanted in a wife," that comment stung Vivian. I could see it in her eyes. Jacob was pulled away for an interview leaving us alone. "Jacob didn't say you were coming. Did Henry come?" I asked flatly.

Vivian looked uncomfortable, "Henry and I are no longer together. We broke up not long after Jacob joined Northampton."

"I see," I said noncommittedly. I would have liked to say I was the bigger man and didn't feel anything, but I have to admit a certain amount of satisfaction that they were no longer together. To be honest I should have wanted him to be there, to thank him. If he hadn't taken Vivian from me then I would never have met Sara. Not to mention the satisfaction of seeing Jacob rejecting him.

"Didn't Jacob play well!" Vivian exclaimed excitedly, deliberately changing the subject. "I am so proud of him!"

"Yes, I think he will be in the team for a long while if he keeps this up," I agreed wholeheartedly. "How have you been?" I asked, with more than a little curiosity.

Vivian tried to smile but a sadness consumed her, "Not so good," she confessed. "When Jacob went to Northampton, Henry was furious. It was then that I found out the kind of man he was. How controlling he was. He constantly screamed at me, blaming me for Jacob leaving. I am sure he cheated on me after that too. It became too much, and I left him. I had to sell all my jewellery to get money and I moved back in with my parents. It was humiliating. It wasn't until then that I realised how ashamed they were of me, of how our marriage ended. I have a job and it pays a reasonable amount. I do enjoy it but, I wouldn't say I'm happy. I miss having a partner," Vivian glanced over my shoulder at Sara. She then wiped away a tear, "Not long after I moved back in with my parents Dad died. They said he had heart disease, but I can't help feeling that I was in some way responsible."

"I was very sorry to hear about your dad. Despite what happened between you and me, he was always good to me. He was a good man. I wished you said something, I would have liked to have gone to the funeral," I told her sadly.

"Thank you, that is kind of you," she gratefully told me.

"Are you seeing anyone?" I asked.

She shook her head, "It turns out when you're my age and divorced, you aren't quite the catch you think you are. Men only want sex, but I want a relationship. I want a home. I want what you and Sara have."

Vivian swallowed as she tried to control her emotions. She looked like she was relieved to get it all off her chest like she had kept all those feelings and guilt to herself for a long time. I don't know why she said it all to me. I suppose I am the only one who wouldn't judge her because I already had. The only one she didn't need to prove anything to.

"Mum!" Jacob called over excitedly. "They want to talk to you!"

Vivian smiled at her son before she looked at me gratefully, "Thank you for listening. I'm sorry for dumping all that on you."

After listening to how unhappy she was, any resentment I still held towards her, vanished. I suppose all the years of happiness with Sara, I've had helped me let the past go. Perversely, I think I would have been happier to see Vivian happy with Henry living the high life. Seeing Vivian so unhappy gave me no pleasure. I always thought it would, but it didn't.

Vivian went to go to her son before she stopped and came back to me. Lightly touching my arm she said with a smile, "Sara, is a lucky woman and I'm glad she makes you happy," but Vivian's eyes didn't show happiness. They looked sad like she was finally seeing what she had lost.

"Why don't you go home with Jacob and spend time with him?" I told her as she walked to join our son.

"Are you sure?" Vivian looked at me in surprise.

"Yeah, I know how much he missed you when he cut Henry off. You made him very happy by coming today. You should watch him more often."

"Won't Sara mind?"

"I'll talk to her. She'll understand. She never ceases to amaze me at how understanding she is. I think it is time to leave everything between us in the past. Jacob deserves that we should be okay with each other."

"Thank you, I know I don't deserve it. I'll see you next time."

Jacob told me later that Vivian cried a lot when she got home.

When Vivian had gone, I walked to Sara and kissed her lovingly before holding her tight. "I love you so much," I whispered in her ear, and she melted into my arms.