Jason tried to coax me, and suddenly everyone seemed enlightened. Even his family showed disdain toward me.
“Oh, so that’s it!”
“You’re divorcing him just because you’re lonely at night?”
“What a reckless woman!”
“Exactly! It’s not like he doesn’t come home, just a bit later. What’s the big deal?”
“You’re making a fuss over a couple of hours?”
“What, coming home at 1 or 2 a.m. still isn’t good enough for you? Still not satisfying?”
“What kind of shallow woman are you?”
The neighbors whispered, giving me disdainful looks, as if I were a woman who couldn’t survive one night without a man.
Faced with their slander and misunderstanding, I couldn’t be bothered to explain.
I only had one word: Divorce. Nothing else.
“Enough talk. I’m getting a divorce. He insists on delivering food every single day!”
Suddenly Jason fell to his knees before me.
“Rachel, I’ll come home earlier, okay? Please, let’s not divorce!”
“I used to deliver food until 2 a.m. every night. From now on, I’ll come home by midnight to be with you, okay?”
The moment he said that, everyone thought it was reasonable.
“That’s enough. This young man is sincere and responsible. He works hard for his family. Where else would you find a man like this?”
“Exactly, girl. He’s promised to come home two hours earlier. Even if you have needs, that should be enough.”
“Honestly, even the wildest woman would be satisfied with that.”
But I still shook my head. “No. Either you stop delivering food, or we get divorced!”
Everyone gasped, thinking I was unreasonable.
“She’s crazy! Does she need her husband by her side all night?”
“Never seen such a woman.”
“Her husband works so hard, and she despises him? My man wouldn’t even feed the dog after work.”
“Right! Mine too. All he does is eat and sleep, both ends of the day.”
“How can she complain when her husband is this hardworking? I’d envy her if it were me.”
“She won’t accept him unless he quits his job? Ridiculous.”
The neighbors’ chatter nearly drowned me in insults.
But I stood my ground.
“No. I want a divorce! Tomorrow morning, meet me at the County Clerk’s Office. If you don’t show, bear the consequences!”
I stared at Jason with eyes that saw through him.
His eyes turned red as he knelt, begging:
“Rachel, at least tell me what I did wrong. Why do you want a divorce? You can’t just ask for it out of nowhere!”
“I deliver food for you and our child, for this family. Why must you divorce me?”