It was 12 months ago when my parents decided to separate. After 35 years of marriage they decided it was no longer working. This was a total surprise for everyone, especially me.
Two months later, we sold the family home and went our separate ways. I went and stayed with mum while my other brother and sister moved in together elsewhere. In the months to come, adjusting to our new life was very tough, however my dad seemed to be coping quite well.
One weekend while I was at his place for dinner I was looking through the wardrobe when I came across something I wish I had never seen. It was evidence that my dad was living with another man, and not just as housemates!
When I confronted my dad about what I had seen, he broke down crying saying he couldn’t hide it any more. That the reason he left my mum was because he had fallen for someone else many years before their marriage ended. Dropping the biggest bombshell of all, it was my mum’s brother. I was sick at the thought and, knowing my mum knew nothing of it, I wish I didn’t know now.
When I got home that night mum was already in bed. I lay next to her silently crying, knowing that if she knew what I knew, she would be devastated.
Unfortunately my mum’s brother was killed in a car accident a few months ago. My mum will never fully understand why my dad was so upset at the funeral.
Picture posed by model.
