Lisa and Johnny had been together for sixteen years. The divorce shocked most people. They were the kind of couple everybody thought would last forever. They’d accomplished so much together, and very few people understood why they broke up. It was acrimonious, though.

Lisa threw out Johnny’s clothes. The kids were supposed to be asleep, but they saw it. There was a lot of crying and screaming for a while. Eric and Jasmine, whom they fondly called JamJam, were angry towards their mother for a while. She was the villain in their story.

She had to agree to let them see Johnny for them to ease up on her. Those visits were another story. Lisa hated how much Johnny spoiled them. She already felt like they pampered them too much, and Johnny took it to the next level.

“What’s that you’re carrying?” Lisa asked Eric.

“Dad got us a PS5,” JamJam answered happily.

Somewhere along the way, she went from trying to stop him from buying them expensive toys and gadgets to trying to match up to it. The kids loved bragging to their friends about their stuff. It stirred up conflict with some of the parents. Some felt the kids would negatively influence their children.

Lisa and Johnny kept the war on; depending on how bad their arguments were, Lisa would prevent Johnny from seeing the children. It didn’t take long for the kids to distrust their father when he said he would pick them up.

“You always break your promises,” JamJam told Eric. After pleading with her, Eric texted Lisa, “You’re making me look like a liar. I need to see my kids.”

“Maybe they’ll learn that you are one earlier than I did,” Lisa replied.

“Grow up, Lisa!”

When Lisa prevented him from picking them up from the house, he picked them up from school but didn’t inform Lisa. Lisa’s nanny communicated that they were not home when the school bus dropped the rest of the kids from their estate.

“Ask one of those kids if they were left before I call the school,” Lisa told the nanny.

“Their dad picked them,” said the kid.

Lisa called Johnny so many times until eventually he picked up֊or so she thought.

“Is this what we’re doing now? Kidnapping?” Lisa yelled.

“Mum, who’s been kidnapped? Why are you yelling?” JamJam asked.

Lisa managed to regain some composure to respond to their daughter.

“I’m sorry, honey. Please give the phone to Daddy.”

Lisa expressed her anger and threatened to contact the school to prevent him from accessing them.

“I’ll go to court then,” Johnny said. He was yelling too.

JamJam started crying.  Eric turned to the window.

He tried bribing them with their favourite items, but he couldn’t change their mood completely.

“Are you going to have mummy arrested?” JamJam asked Johnny.

“Why do you think that?” Johnny asked her.

“Because you said you’ll take her to court, and people go to court after being arrested. I don’t want that, Daddy,” JamJam cried again.

They had to leave the mall because JamJam was hysterical. Johnny took them home. He found Lisa waiting for them. JamJam hugged her so tightly. Eric didn’t even say a word to either of them. He went straight to his room and locked the door.

“We need to talk,” Johnny told Lisa.

She took JamJam to her room and waited until she fell asleep. Johnny was still outside.

“We can’t keep doing this. They are just 8 and 11 and don’t deserve such a childhood,” Johnny told Lisa.

“I have never seen them like that,” Lisa said calmly.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was going to pick them up,” Johnny told her.

She looked at him suspiciously.

“What? I can admit when I’m wrong,” he said.

They agreed to think of a better way forward for the sake of their children. JamJam woke up the following day still scared about her mother being arrested. Lisa and Johnny sat them down and promised to co-parent in a healthier way, which calmed them down.

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