Chapter 7
Richard looked a bit taken aback, but brushed it off like it was nothing.
He said, "She was sort of my first love, but it wasn't anything serious.
"Back in middle school, we were just kids messing around.
"She just got back from overseas, and honestly, Fiona acts more like one of the guys, immature and impulsive.
"Annie, if you ever see her, just ignore her."
Mom sat quietly on the couch, holding me close, lost in thought for a long time.
After that, they kept arguing and went through several rounds of silent treatment, all because of Fiona.
Fiona claimed she was coming over to apologize.
But she pulled Richard into the kitchen and started teasing him.
She scoffed, "Come on, is it really that big a deal?
"If I ever took a fancy to a guy like you, she wouldn't even get a look in."
Richard sighed, exasperated.
"You're impossible," he said.
Later that night, Fiona called Richard.
She claimed she was drunk and asked him for a ride home.
Mom quietly followed after him.
She watched as Fiona got up from a table surrounded by friends, leaned in, and planted a kiss right on Richard's cheek.
All the anger Mom had been holding back finally exploded.
She stormed over and slapped Richard hard across the face.
Then, without missing a beat, she turned and slapped Fiona just as hard.
Fiona totally went off right then and there, making a scene.
Richard was put on the spot, his face red with embarrassment as he snapped, "Fiona was just drunk.
"She's basically one of the guys.
"It's not like she even landed the kiss!"
For the first time ever, Mom finally lost it and let loose with a string of curses, letting both Fiona and Richard have it.
"Drop the act, you fucking idiots!" she snapped.
Right then and there, Mom demanded a divorce.
But I wasn't even three yet, way too little to get what was going on between the grown-ups.
I was just scared I might lose either my dad or my mom.
When Richard saw that Mom was really going through with the divorce, he frantically apologized to her.
He repeatedly swore he'd stay away from Fiona for good.
With me in tow, he knelt outside Mom's bedroom door.
He whispered to me, "Tell her that you're cold out here."
But Mom wouldn't open the door.
Richard wouldn't let me go back to the children's room. He kept me with him outside her door all night.
The next day, I caught a cold.
Because my health was always fragile, my heart just couldn't take it and I had a heart attack.
I blacked out from a raging fever, and they rushed me straight to the emergency room.
Richard looked at Mom, desperate, and begged, "Emily can't lose her dad."
Mom waited outside the ER, her eyes swollen from crying, and finally, for my sake, she relented.
She told Richard, "This is the last time."
After that, Richard cut off all contact with Fiona.
But Fiona felt like she'd been humiliated beyond measure.
She felt that Richard keeping his distance was as if he was admitting Mom was right.
That night, she used being drunk as an excuse and tried to make a move on Richard.
She said she couldn't stand losing face in front of her friends, so she stormed over to Richard's place and picked a fight with him.
Then she took things to a whole new level, somehow worming her way into Daniel's life.
She implanted memories twice as painful as before, and it drove Daniel over the edge until he couldn't take it anymore.
Even though she left no evidence behind, she was so guilty and scared that she ran away overseas.
Richard was absolutely livid, vowing he'd hunt Fiona down and bring her back himself.
But from the very first day Richard left the country, Mom stopped waiting for him.
She knew deep down he'd never really bring Fiona back.
From that moment on, neither Mom nor I ever counted on him again.
We were done putting our hopes in that so-called father and husband.