A Place to Land

Mark

"I sold my soul for a little bit of heaven"

It's been a few days since Karen left. I don't even blame her for leaving. The one thing that sucks more than your wife leaving you is having to explain it to your parents. My parents have no idea about any of this. They are coming to town and they think that they are going to be visiting Karen and I. I get to tell them at lunch today. Oh joy.

I headed to the restaurant to meet my parents. I pulled into the parking lot and went inside. My parents were already there and waiting for a table. I went up to them and gave them a hug.

"Hey. How are you doing? Where's Karen?" My mom asked.

"Umm...She couldn't make" I said. My mom could tell something was up.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"I'll explain when we get a table" I said trying to put this off as long as possible.

The hostess took us to our table and we all got seated.

"So what's new?" My dad asked.

"Um, I finished the project with Carrie Underwood and I might get a spot in her band" I said.

"That's great" he said.

"So, where's Karen today?" My mom asked again.

"I'm not sure. I haven't seen her in a few days" I said.

"What? Why? Is she okay?" My mom asked concerned.

"I'm sure she's fine.... She moved out and is filing for divorce" I said quietly.

"Wait, what?" They both asked.

"We're getting a divorce" I said quietly.

"Why?" My dad asked.

"Because I messed up" I said.

"How did you mess up? What did you do?" My mom asked.

"I cheated on her" I said. I was definitely ashamed of myself and I hated to admit that I cheated on my wife. The woman that I vowed my life to.

"With who?" she asked.

"One of Carrie's backup singers. And before you say anything, I know it was a mistake and I'm not proud of it by any means" I said.

"Have you talked to Karen about any of this? Are you sure want to throw everything away because of a mistake?" my dad asked.

"You don't understand. It didn't just happen once. It went on for a few weeks. There is no way she is ever, in a million years, going to trust me again. I fucked up and now I have to pay the consequences. I don't even blame her for leaving. If it were me, and I found out she cheated on me, I would do the same thing. Our marriage is over and it's all my fault" I said trying not to get myself worked up.

"You're going to get through this" My mom said and I nodded.

"You just have to give it some time" she added.

We finished our lunch and walked around town for the rest of the day.

Thank God my parents were only here for the day so we didn't have to keep talking about my divorce. Tomorrow I have a meeting with Carrie. We're meeting at a coffee house at ten tomorrow morning. She's already asked me to be her bass player so we just have to get the formalities all sorted out before she starts touring.

The next morning I woke up around eight and took a shower. Once I was done, I got dressed and went downstairs and ate some breakfast. At 9:30, I decided to head to the coffee shop. I pulled in at about 9:45. I ordered my coffee and got a table. A few minutes later, Carrie walked in. I figured she would be here early because she is always early to everywhere she goes.

"Hey" she said with a smile.

"Hey" I said and she sat down after she got her coffee.

"How have you been? How's Karen?" she asked. I was dreading that question.

"I've been better" I said, not wanting to lie.

"Is everything okay?" she asked and took a sip of her coffee.

"Not exactly, but I'll be fine" I said hoping she will drop it, but being the type of person she is, she won't  because she always wants to fix everyone's problems so everyone is happy. I guess that's what I admire about her.

"Well, Karen and I are getting a divorce" I said quietly.

"Oh, Mark, I'm so sorry" she said.

"Thanks" I said and gave her a small smile.

"What happened? You guys were doing so well" she said.

"I was stupid and messed up and now I have to pay for it" I said.

"Well if you ever want to talk, I'm just a phone call away" she said sincerely.

"Thanks Carrie" I said and gave her a smile.

"So let's get this paperwork signed" she said and I nodded.

She pulled the necessary paperwork out and we got everything signed and situated. I had already talked with her manager and the label and everything to work out all the financial stuff. Today was just signing the rest of the paperwork. We sat and talked for a little while. This job couldn't have come at a better time.