Daughter 01 The Broken Brunch

Chapter 01

SUNDAY April 14, 2024 | Meadows Diner

Jon and Sara's car rattled as the caravan of eighteen wheelers thundered past, going south on Route 8.

"Weird how much truck traffic there is today," Jon muttered, glancing at Sara, who shrugged back, as they pulled into the lot of the Meadows diner. Sara's family has been regular customers for years.

Finding a spot near the entrance, Jon felt that familiar warmth settle over him, the same comfort he felt every time they met Sara's family here, sharing laughs over endless cups of coffee.

The discussions were lively, and the food justified the journey as the diner showcased an all organic, locally sourced menu. He loved the fresh ground spicy pork sausage links and patties with a country omelet or a full stack of buttermilk pancakes. He was close to replicating his version of their spicy hot maple syrup at home.

Jon tilted his head as he watched his wife staring at the diner, her fingers tapping a restless rhythm on her thigh.

For the last couple of weeks, she'd been quieter, more withdrawn, like she was holding onto a secret too heavy to carry. Sara was never good at hiding her emotions, but he knew she'd let him in after she had thought things through. So he didn't push. He stepped outside and waited for Sara to exit before locking the car.

Sara looked down and checked her phone quickly before placing it on silent mode and in her purse... even on Sundays, her global clients sometimes needed attention. Being a marketing director meant being available, but today family came first.

Squinting as she closed the car door, she zipped up her winter coat and adjusted her knit hat to keep the breeze out. It was one of those tricky April mornings, where Jack Frost tried his best to extend his hold on the season and sap the warmth from your bones. Cold in the shade, deceivingly warm in the sun.

"Jeez, is it ever going to feel like spring?" Sara muttered under her breath, tugging her coat tighter. "Third winter's definitely overstaying its welcome." She laughed, thinking about how unpredictable the northeastern seasons had become.

She continued staring at the diner as if expecting it to reach out and greet her like an old friend. The chrome gleamed a little less bright and the red trim a shade closer to rust than cherry. Her blonde hair wisped across her face, catching the diner's fluorescent lights.

Forty years, the faded neon sign on the roof proclaimed, advertising burgers and milkshakes in a font as retro as her childhood memories. Yet, despite the passage of time, the diner held its ground, a stubborn landmark amidst the ever evolving shiny strip malls that grew around it.

She smiled as a gentle breeze embraced her with the comforting scents of breakfast and bacon. Lots of bacon.

Sara remembered the good times her family shared here. Meals after soccer or field hockey games, birthdays, or any occasion when her parents didn't want to cook. Though her parents were both wonderful cooks, they loved supporting the diner and the connections it held with local farms. The now adult family kept the tradition alive by meeting every two weeks for Sunday brunch.

Her fingers tightened around Jon's hand before she pulled him towards the door, her gaze lingering on the familiar Welcome sign for reaassurance. The bells above their heads jangled cheerfully as they entered, though the sound felt slightly off key to Sara.

She could only hope today would be one of the good days.

****

"Ok... I have 1 Greek omelet, 2 western... all with home fries and bacon sides... a tall stack blueberry with double sausage, four coffees and two fresh squeezed OJs. Did I miss anything?"

"No, that sounds like everything... thanks Penny." as everyone else nodded.

"My pleasure Tony. Is Julie running late? Should I set another place setting?"

"Uh no... Julie... won't be joining us this morning."

"Ok." she walked away as she yelled out "Billy, 2 fresh squeezed for 7." A young waitress, wearing a gaudy, red in training ribbon, shadowing Penny, came over with a friendly smile, and a good morning, as she poured hot coffee into their mugs, then chased right after Penny.

Sara watched as Jon chatted easily with her brother Scott. She loved the way he naturally fit in with her family right from the beginning. With her hand on her belly, she gave a sigh knowing they planned on expanding the family soon... if everything went according to their plan. The thought sent an unexpected chill through her, one she'd been feeling more often lately. But this wasn't the time to dwell on those fears.

Sara tilted her head as she stared at her father. Something wasn't right. His eyes were jittery, avoiding eye contact... which was so unlike him, and he stroked his unshaven face, which was unheard of, as he liked a clean-shaven face. The usually light wrinkles around his eyes were... pronounced. Like he hadn't slept all week. Her mother not being here weighed heavily on her mind. "Please...?" she thought.

As her fingers unconsciously wrapped around her grandmother's emerald pendant... an heirloom passes down through generations of Williams women. The familiar weight against her chest had always brought her comfort, but today it felt heavy, like it knew that she would need it's strength.

"Let it be anything but that..." Her chest tightened as she asked "Dad, where's mom?"

Tony's face dropped as he looked at his children and sighed. "That's what I need to talk to you about. There is no easy way to say this, and after the week I've had, I'm too drained to play games. Your mother has been cheating on me... with some guy she met at a club... I'm filing for divorce."

The words hit Sara like a punch to the gut. "Fuck..." she thought. Her stomach spiralling as her mother's words from two weeks ago echoed in her mind "It's just dancing, honey. A few drinks, some attention from younger men..." At the time, she pushed those conversations away, convincing herself that her mother would never cheat. But sitting here now, watching her father's pain, she realized she'd been a fool.

Her breath caught in her throat as her trembling hand reached for Jon under the table.

"What???" said Scott.

"Oh no..." Whispered Jon, with a heavy heart. Jon understood broken families. Navigating his parents broken marriage as a teenager had been hard on him and his brother.

"Infidelity didn't feel any better as an adult." thought Jon. He grunted as he felt his hand being squeezed sharply. His gaze shifting towards Sara, who was taking short, panicked breaths. Her face drained of color. He squeezed back, not in anger or judgement, but to let her know that he loved her, and was there for her.

"This was going to be different," he thought, a tearing apart that he wasn't sure anyone would survive unscathed.

"Wait, how... when... did this happen?" asked Scott.

Tony's shoulders slumped as the sigh escaped like the air from a punctured tire. His fingers restlessly tracing the menu's worn edges.

"Those Friday night work dinners," Tony said, his voice bitter. "Her friends from the office invited her out... I guess I should have seen it coming. They're all divorced, always telling her how liberated they feel. I thought dinner would be harmless."

Sara watched her father, seeing beyond his words. The Friday nights were never about dinner with friends.

Is this how it starts for all marriages? Not with dramatic betrayals but with tiny secrets, with words left unsaid. Her mother's quest for something... validation, excitement, a version of herself lost between decades of motherhood and marriage... had begun in those seemingly innocent evenings out.

A dull nausea churned in Jon's stomach, dragging him back to the suffocating weight of teenage nights spent listening to muffled arguments through thin walls, as his parents' marriage dissolved into a competition of infidelities.

He understood these quiet devastations all too well. Families didn't explode... they leaked. Tiny fractures that spread until the entire structure became unsustainable. 10 years later and his family was still dealing with the aftermath.

He thought he'd found an escape from that world with Sara's family. His hand, warm and steady, pressed Sara's firmly.

"Yea, harmless," Tony repeated.

"The sad part is that I encouraged her to go out," Tony said, a bitter laugh escaping. "Thought I was being a good husband." The irony wasn't lost on him or his children... his generosity had been the very wedge that pried apart their life together.

"...how did you find out?" asked Scott.

"She told me!" said Tony in a raised voice as he spread his hands.

"I didn't want to believe it, but she came right out, with no shame, and told me. Like it was just another topic at dinner. But then... then she had the nerve to try to convince me it was fine. Can you believe that?"

"That wasn't the complete truth," thought Tony. Julie was either sloppy in her delusion or got played. Tony received two videos of Julie cheating on him from an unknown number this past Friday night. Her grand unveiling of the affair was already old news when she told him Saturday morning.

"What the hell..." Jon muttered under his breath.

Penny placed maple syrup, a platter with toast, and butter and jellies on the table. "Order will be up in a few," as she continued to the next table.

Tony looked up with a weak smile, then continued. "She started talking about modern relationships and feminine empowerment... how she shouldn't be confined by outdated ideas about marriage... She has the right to explore, and have new experiences because she's a modern woman who wants to feel butterflies again. Before she gets too old."

"Then..." holding his hand up "Then... she said it's only sex... like that somehow makes a difference... and does not include any love. Because... and get this... she only loves me."

Sara, Jon and Scott stared at Tony. Words escaping them.

"And if that wasn't enough... she hit me with this my body, my choice bullshit, which apparently supersedes our marriage vows, as it is her choice who she gives access to her body. Our marriage vows suddenly meant nothing compared to some podcast about living your truth."

"What did she say when you threatened to divorce her?" Sara asked, her fingers nervously tracing the etching on her pendant.

"Not a threat, Sara. It's happening. I won't let anyone disrespect me and turn me into a cuckold."

Tony's voice cracked. Not from rage, but from a deep sense of loss. This wasn't just about betrayal... it was about the complete unraveling of a life he thought he understood. Thirty-five years of marriage reduced to a moment of careless indiscretion, of casual cruelty. The future he had imagined... quiet evenings, grandchildren, travel, growing old together... dissolved like mist, leaving behind nothing but the stark, cold reality of abandonment.

"Amen to that," said Jon.

Sara looked down and dug a nail into her finger. She was well aware of her husband's thoughts on infidelity.

"Then she said that if I resisted, she would take everything in the divorce, so I should just accept it. She only told me about the other guy because she wanted my approval to explore things with him. She expected me to be happy for her. Nothing would change between us and it would only be once a week."

"I stared at her like she had lost her mind... I told her no... then fuck no. This... caught me by surprise." he sighed.

"That's when she lost it, calling me old-fashioned, and I didn't own or control her body. She kept trying to get me to see her side... how it wouldn't hurt us... I would get all the sex I could handle, and more... When I didn't respond, she then asked if we could open our marriage for a short time... or practice ethical non-monogamy... whatever the fuck that is."

Tony rubbed the back of his neck. "At that point I'd had enough. It was obvious a moron had replaced my wife. I told her no matter what she called it, it was cheating. The answer now and forever would be no. I finally told her to go fuck herself, and her body, and that I had made my choice."

"She kept screaming like a banshee, running back and forth, finally packing a bag, and just left the house. I sat in the kitchen for a couple of hours. Numb. Then I moved her crap from the main bedroom to the guest room, just in case she came back. But she's been gone since yesterday. I don't know where she is. I plan to have her served this week at work."

Placing his hands back down on the table, Tony sighed, "It's been a hell of a week..." Disgust evident in his voice.

"I can't believe this. I thought it was just the girls my age doing all that... but mom? It's so hard to find a girl who wants to build something together. They play so many mind games now that it's tiring. I'm sorry dad. I never expected something like this from mom. You two seemed solid... still in love. I'm here for you for whatever you need. Just ask," said Scott.

"Same here, dad. Whatever you need," added Jon.

Tony looked at his daughter, surprised at how quiet she was. "Sara, have you spoken to your mother this week?"

"uh... no dad. We haven't spoken at all this week." replied Sara. The question sent chills to the very depths of her heart. He looked sad at her response, possibly hoping for a different answer.

"That's strange for you two, isn't it? Said Tony.

"uh, yeah. It is..." Sara turned away, biting her lip to control her quivering. She watched Penny move between tables, coffee pot in hand, her practiced smile never wavering...

"Don't worry dad. I'm disappointed and pissed, but I'll find her and talk to her," said Scott.

Tony nodded at the boys. "I'm worried about her safety. She's still your mom, and she loves you both, regardless of what happens with me. Try not to cut her off. She's going through something and... decided to keep me out of it..."

Sara couldn't maintain eye contact, as she let her eyes wander around the familiar diner.

Conversations, laughter, the clinks and clangs of cutlery on plates, the sizzling sounds from the open kitchen overwhelmed her as she wanted to avoid where this conversation was heading. She focussed on the circular corner booth her family sat in every other Sunday. The once pristine red vinyl seats, now worn and cracked.

They had seen many of her family's wonderful moments. Like her engagement announcement. Her parents were so happy for her and Jon. Or, when she was younger, how she loved putting nickels and dimes into the mini jukebox by the window, exploring new songs that were old to her parents. What had always been a comforting, fluorescently illuminated refuge, now bore the heavy weight of bearing witness to a dark family moment.

The sinking feeling in Sara's chest deepened as the worst-case scenario had become a reality for her. She caught the tear running down her face and looked at her dad.

Her heart pounded in her ears, the shame and guilt clawing up her throat. She knew what she'd done or hadn't done, was wrong. But how could she tell him? How could she tell her dad that she knew? That she kept her mouth shut?

"I'm so sorry, daddy. I'm sorry this happened... and the divorce, that's... Is there no way to work this out? Counseling?" asked Sara.

"No." Tony responded firmly. "Not the way this broke down. If she was having issues, she should have spoken with me, giving us a chance to fix it together. Instead, she opened herself up to an emotional affair, and has chosen to make it physical. She disrespected me and our marriage. Sara... she refuses to stop and expects me to accept it."

"That's selfish... hurtful, and so unlike her. You've been together for almost 35 years. You said she doesn't love this guy. If she comes back home truly remorseful, would you consider at least trying? Why rush into a divorce? What would be the harm in trying?" asked Sara.

Tony gave his daughter a hard look. Before going to the diner that morning, Tony had already decided that he didn't want his children to find out about the videos of their mother's activities. He questioned whether he made the right choice...

"Her actions, Sara... God, she spent weeks with this guy. Dates, dancing, getting drunk... and God knows what else. I don't believe for a second that she doesn't have feelings for this guy. She has been cheating on me and our marriage. Disrespecting our bond, everything we built. I can't ignore it. I love your mother and can't just turn that off. But she destroyed our marriage without taking me and my feelings into account."

"I understand and I agree. I think... what I'm trying to say is, maybe this is still too fresh in your minds and needs to sit a little, so you can both calm down before having a genuine conversation. The anger between you two could have made things sound worse. Are you being stubborn and overreacting by rushing into a divorce... is this an ego thing?" said Sara.

Her father's head bolted up. Jon and Scott turned their heads in disbelief.

Tony once again stared into Sara's eyes. Before Julie ran out of the house, she accused him of wanting to control her because his fragile male ego would not allow her to live her best life. He wanted to keep her shackled to him. Control her... Tony stared into Sara's eyes, hoping to not see what he feared. Sara tried to stare back, but withered under his steely gaze.

Tony's face fell. The truth of Sara's silence struck him with a force he hadn't anticipated. He looked at her, searching for something... some denial, some plea for understanding. But all he saw was guilt, plain and simple.

"Oh... Sarabelle." His voice was a hoarse whisper as he locked eyes with her. "You knew? How long?"

Sara bowed her head, unable to hold back any longer. Tears welled up, spilling down her cheeks as guilt rippled through her with each shaky breath. The once familiar diner now felt alien, the red vinyl booths magnifying her shame.

Her mother had lied to her... again!... she never spoke with her father as she promised. She cheated on him and flaunted it in his face. Sara's mind raced. She wasn't just sad... she was angry. Angry at her mother for putting her in this impossible position. Angry at herself for being so easily manipulated. She regained control, her eyes moving towards her dad.

There was no mistaking the look. It was pain, not the physical kind, but pain none the less, more pain than she could ever remember seeing on his face. She wanted to die.... salt ran freely over her lips, as the warmth curled unders her chin. She loved him so much, and it hurt her to think she caused this pain.

She'd told herself she was protecting everyone by staying quiet, but now, watching her father's unshaven face and trembling hands, she realized she'd only been protecting herself.

"The last time I spoke to mom was two weeks ago."

"Aaaannnnnd...????" said Tony, waving his hand to get Sara to elaborate.

"She told me she was having a hard time... feeling old and unwanted as a woman. She didn't know who she was anymore. I told her you loved her and would do anything for her. She told me how she started going out with the women at work, and how it turned into dancing at clubs."

Sara looked away from her father. "She told me about meeting a guy."

"Jeez, Sara. I can't believe you," her brother said in a disgusted tone. "You helped mom cheat on dad?" as Penny stopped at their table with their orders.

"Oh sorry! Oookaaay, one second..." Penny deftly maneuvered her arms between the heated stares, placing their orders in front of them. I'll leave you to it. Is there anything else I can... you know what.... you all signal me if you need anything... Enjoy! Coffee refills on 7."

They started eating their breakfast in silence as the young girl trailing Penny refilled their cups.

"I didn't help her do anything. I was shocked and pleaded with her to talk with Dad," replied Sara.