“Maybe love isn’t like lightning, it can strike twice,” thought Abigail. She had been on five dates with Henry. This was the third man she had dated since her divorce from Luka. The first guy had a problem with the fact that she had a daughter and that she was actively co-parenting with Luka. The second one told her, “It’s clear I’ll always come second to your child,” when she cancelled their date because her daughter had a medical emergency.

Dating after years of marriage was already difficult, and the disappointment from the two encounters had deflated her hope. Then came Henry. They’d met at a work event. He was a great conversationalist, and he made her laugh.

Henry didn’t look fazed by the things that ‘driven away’ the other men. Abigail started feeling things that felt like distant memories. She’d felt them with Luka, but that was years ago. She was giddy before dates with Henry. Suddenly, she was looking for outfits for different outings.

“Does this look like I’m trying too hard?” she’d ask the shop attendants often.

She looked in the mirror and saw the girl in the mirror’s blush. It was official; she was in love. After a few weeks of dating, Abigail introduced her daughter Ruth to Henry. It went well, and although Ruth didn’t talk to him too much, they were cordial.

The flame between Abigail and Henry burned so intensely that wedding bells rang. They moved to a different house and began living as a family. As they moved from one house to another, the family dynamics changed.

“I want to go to dad,” Ruth told Abigail.

“It’s not his turn with you. What’s going on?” Abigail asked Ruth.

“He already said he can pick me up,” Ruth told her.

The doorbell interrupted them.

“That must be him!” Ruth shouted as she picked up her backpack.

“What’s going on?” Luka asked Abigail.

“Why didn’t you inform me beforehand that you were picking her up?” Abigail asked angrily.

“She sounded very upset and said she couldn’t talk to you about it,” Luka told her.

“But she can tell you?” Abigail asked in a half accusatory tone.

“Let’s not go there. We need to know what’s going on with her,” said Luka.

“You’re the one she wants to talk to so…”

Ruth was already in Luka’s car and was playing a game on her tablet.

“What’s going on mummy?” Luka asked her.

“Can we first go somewhere else?” Ruth said with a hint of tears in her eyes.

“Sure. Ice cream or chicken nuggets?” Luka asked her.

“Both,” replied Ruth, smiling.

After indulging in a copious amount of decadent chocolate gelato, Luka prodded her again.

“I don’t like Henry,” Ruth told him.

“Why? I thought you said he was okay. What has happened?” Luka asked her, afraid of the answer.

“Everything is changing. He makes up all these stupid rules and yells at me all the time,” Ruth cried.

Luka held his pre-teen daughter in his arms like a little girl and then asked her to explain in detail what had been happening.

“We need to talk,” Luka texted Abigail.

After taking Ruth to his house, Luka met up with Abigail.

“This is a little delicate and I don’t want to seem like I’m meddling in your new marriage but this is about our child,” Luka said.

“What’s going on?” Abigail asked him.

“She’s having trouble adjusting to Henry’s authority and says he yells at her too much,” Luka explained.

“But that’s just how he is with kids,” Abigail told Luka.

“Oh, you’ve seen him with other kids?”

“Not exactly but he raises his voice with her sometimes to be firm. You know she’s almost a teen,” Abigail defended Henry.

“Has she been difficult with you guys?” Luka asked.

“No, but he’s trying to make sure she doesn’t stray,” Abigail told him.

“So you’re okay with him yelling at our child for no reason?” Luka yelled.

“He’s still trying to get the hang of parenting,” Abigail told him.

“Abigail, sort this out or I will have a talk with him.”

Abigail knew that tone. She spent the journey home trying to think of how to have the conversation with Henry.

“You people have given her so much freedom,” Henry defended himself.

“She’s not a naughty child and may be you could tone down the yelling,” Abigail said.

“She shouldn’t even have a tablet. Those things are spoiling children,” said Henry.

“She has it so that she can communicate with each parent directly without needing a go-between,” Abigail told him.

“I’m not comfortable with this arrangement,” Henry complained.

By the time Ruth came back, Henry had convinced Abigail that they should take away Ruth’s tablet. That amplified Ruth’s dislike for Henry. She could only talk to Luka through Abigail’s phone. Meanwhile, Henry complained about Luka and Abigail having frequent communication.

Ruth’s grades suffered. The school emailed both Luka and Abigail for a meeting. They both knew what was going on, but Abigail thought Ruth would eventually be okay with it. Luka had sought legal advice.

“I think Ruth should live with me full-time,” Luka told her.

“Henry’s right, you’re the one spoiling her,” Abigail said.

“Are you listening to yourself? She was doing great before all this Henry business,” Luka said.

“She just needs to get used to the changes,” Abigail told him.

“She hardly gets to talk to me, she’s not talking to you either, her school work is a mess, but mostly I fail to see the logic behind his actions. Is he trying to assert his authority? Or maybe he wants her gone, but either way, I don’t want him living with her,” Luka said, ignoring his instinct to de-escalate the situation.

After arguing, Ruth left with Luka since it was his turn with her, but they had yet to find a resolution. Abigail promptly informed Henry of what had happened.

“Let him have her, maybe we can finally have some peace and start our own family,” Henry responded.

“Wow!” Abigail exclaimed.

“Oh you know I didn’t mean it like that,” Henry said, trying to hold her arms.

“No, I don’t. Maybe they’ve been right about this,” Abigail said.

“Now you’re siding with your ex-husband over me?”

“Don’t even try to turn this around,”

“You clearly value his opinion more,” said Henry.

Abigail walked away. She wanted to keep her daughter and her marriage, but it didn’t look like she could have both. She agreed to Ruth staying with Luka temporarily as she figured out whether there was a way to salvage the situation.

Henry looked as happy as he was when they first started dating. He occasionally asked about how Ruth was doing, but was relieved that she wasn’t living with them. It broke Abigail’s heart, but she knew there was only one right decision.

As they moved to another house, Ruth turned to her mother, “I’m sorry I’m the reason you and Henry didn’t work out.”

“No, honey, Henry was the reason we didn’t work out. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you enough,” Abigail said.

She felt another kind of love overwhelm her and was filled with gratitude. She wondered if that would be enough forever, but that moment was peaceful.

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