Mom Tries To Hide Sons When She Spots Ex-Hubby At Mall

A Haunting Sight

It had been years since she had seen him, and she couldn’t help wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her. It felt like she was looking at a ghost who had come to haunt her. He had ruined her life, and she had hoped never to see him again.

A shiver went down her spine when she noticed he was looking at her. The recognition in his eyes scared her, and she felt trapped. There was nothing she could do now that they were in a public place, and she had her children. But was there even the slightest opportunity?

Action And Consequence

We all know that life throws us curve balls and that we should make the best of what we have. Things can change within a blink of an eye, and it’s best not to take anything for granted. And there are many ways your past can come back to haunt you.

The real catch is how to respond when these things happen – will you be frozen in shock, or will you roll with the punches? How do you know if your reaction is right or wrong? There’s no way of telling what the consequences will be.

A Man From Her Past

Any onlooker would have thought Sandie Gillette’s reaction strange when she saw the man standing before her. But if they knew the story behind her past, they would have done precisely the same.

She knew the man who was standing in front of her. Bertran Putnam had played an essential role in Sandie’s life, which had altered her life forever.

Saturday Shopping

Sandie woke up to a Saturday morning like any other. She woke up her two children and made them breakfast before they got ready for the mall. She had no idea what was waiting for her once she got there.

She had a list of things to get for the house and hoped to be out of the shops as quickly as possible. But she hadn’t anticipated seeing Bertrand Putnam that day. She thought that that part of her life was over.

Headed Home

Sandie and her children were exiting one of the stores when it suddenly happened. It was the last shop they had to go to, and they were all looking forward to returning home.

The kids followed their mom as she pushed the cart past more shop windows, but then she froze. Sandie’s eyes were wide, and her stomach felt queasy. Had she seen right? Was her mind playing tricks on her?

An Unforgettable Face

Sandie suddenly felt as though she was in a dream or some nightmare. The edges of her vision blurred, and she wondered if what she saw was real.

Her eyes flicked over the man’s features. The gray hair, the grin on his face, and his eyes. They were cruel and empty as they gazed at her. There was no denying it was him – it was a face she would never forget.

Frazzled Nerves

Their eyes locked, and she felt her blood turn cold at the lifeless look in his eyes. She took a steadying breath before she walked past him, not making a single sound. Once she had walked a good enough distance away, she paused to recover her frazzled nerves.

Her sons were confused by their mother’s behavior and didn’t hesitate to ask if she was alright. Sandie could hardly hear them. Her mind was racing, and she couldn’t believe what she had just seen. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and her hands were shaking. She felt faint and needed to find a seat.

Memories

She was gasping, and it was a while before she caught her breath. Her panic attack had started to subside, and she held her hand to her chest, feeling her heart rate begin to stabilize. This wasn’t the first time she’d had a panic attack, so she had grown used to them.

Her mind was suddenly filled with flashes of memory, the man’s face in every one of those flashes. She knew she couldn’t escape her life with him, mainly because of how much he had changed her life.

Her Life With Him

Bertrand Putnam had been her husband a few years ago. She had fallen pregnant with his children, so her two sons were too young to remember the face of the man they had just walked past. But Sadie would never be able to forget.

Her life had been difficult with him. His behaviors hadn’t been good for his own and her mental health. He had never physically hurt her, but the alcohol, the gambling, and the cheating were enough to damage her psyche.

Wanting To Escape

The constant fighting made her unhappy. The fights seemed to get worse as time passed, and no matter how many times Sadie attempted to leave the man, she couldn’t. She was repeatedly roped back in, and she couldn’t understand why it was so difficult to escape him.

As confused as she felt, she knew of one thing holding her back; one thing that kept her from packing her bags and leaving him behind forever.

Financial Dependency

She and the kids were financially dependent on him. Sandie worked as a waitress, while Bertrand was an attorney. Sandie knew she would have a hard time granting her children a good and comfortable life if they could only rely on her salary.

Besides, she knew that Bertrand would use his legal knowledge and fight tooth and nail to avoid paying alimony and child support. It seemed like she was doomed to stay by his side.

No One To Reach Out To

Sandie couldn’t count on her family’s support either. They had cut her off years ago. And, while Sandie understood that she had made some mistakes in the past, she still couldn’t understand how her parents could be so cold as to pretend she didn’t exist.

Clearly, the choices she took hurt them more than she could fathom at the time. But it was something Sandie regretted deeply now, and it was a part of her life she was over with. Why couldn’t they let go of the past?

Sandie’s Past

When Sandie’s parents heard that she was dropping out of college to become an exotic dancer in a gentleman’s club, that was the stroke that broke the camel’s back.

They couldn’t take the disappointment, the absolute and blatant disregard for all their advice and reprimands. They cut them off immediately. At the start, Sandie just felt relieved. Finally, she could live her life how she wanted without anyone pestering her about what she had to do. Or that’s what she thought.

Not An Easy Life

She soon found out that not all that glitters is gold. She didn’t have to listen to her parents anymore, that was true. But now, she had to always be making sure that her boss at the club was happy with her performance.

No matter what she was going through, she had to put on a happy face for the customers; she had to give them a good time, or else she wouldn’t be able to pay that month’s rent. She had to keep that money coming in, and that meant catering to what all those stranger men wanted at a given moment. 

The Price Of Independence

Now, she was paying her own bills. And that felt empowering at first, but after a few years, it started to get exhausting. She realized that she wasn’t that good with money. 

Without fail, at the end of the week, nothing would be left of the money she had made during the previous days. Her evenings and nights at the club, which used to be fun, began to feel more like toil; just something she did to pay the bills. Sometimes, she felt like a hamster in a wheel. However, things would soon take a turn.

She Met Bertrand

That was when she met Bertrand. One day, he walked through the club’s door and became one of Sandie’s regulars shortly after. Back then, he was tall, dark, and handsome, fresh out of law school, interning for a big firm.

By that time, Sandie was already a jaded dancer and saw entertaining the customers as a chore. But with Bertrand, it was different. At first, at least.

She Liked Him

She actually liked Bertrand, even though at first she was ashamed to admit it. After all, the men who came to see her perform were just looking for a good time, not a relationship. 

But one day, Bertrand asked her out. She thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. Just a few days later, they went on their first date, and that’s when their romance started.

Wedding

It didn’t take long before Bertrand convinced her to quit her job at the club and move in with him. Two years after their first date, they married and had two kids.

That was when everything started going downhill. Sandie knew from the start that Bertrand was not a saint; after all, they met in the club. However, she thought his vices would lessen as he grew older and matured. But that wasn’t the case.

It Got Worse

Instead, they became worse. After the kids were born, Bertrand proved time and time again that he wasn’t cut for being a good father, let alone a good husband. Their fights became more and more frequent.

Until one day, after another one of their disagreements, it all came to an end. Putnam just took his suitcase, walked towards the door, and left.

Not A Peep

For a few days, Sandie didn’t hear a peep from him. She called his friends and his family, but she didn’t manage to get a straight answer from them; either they were covering for Bertrand, or they hadn’t heard from him either.

She even called his job. They told her he was there but refused to let her talk to him. Sandie cried and cried, even though she had wished for it to end sometimes. He was gone for good. 

It Was Hard For Her

At first, it was hard for Sandie to come to terms with it. She couldn’t accept that she would be a single mother from then on, without anyone to help her raise her kids.

But soon, she saw that this change was for the better. She was better off without him. What kind of father would have he been? Fortunately, the kids were too young to remember. Had they grown up to deal with him, they would have probably been psychologically and emotionally scarred.

But Everything Worked Out Alright

So Sandie had managed to give her children proper raising. And she was proud of having overcome the abuse from that man, of being a great mother on her own, and of having left all that pain and suffering behind.

One could have thought that it was all over, that the past is the past, and that there’s where it should stay. But it didn’t.

That Wasn’t All

Sandie couldn’t resist. Maybe after all those years, she was still a victim of that man’s spell. Maybe she wanted to ask him for an explanation of all he did. Maybe it was just curiosity.

But she felt the urge to follow that man. He was going towards the parking lot. With her children following her and wondering what their mom was up to, she started following Bertrand at a discrete distance.

They Watched Him Get In A Car…

When they arrived at the parking lot, Sandie and her kids got in her car in order to avoid getting caught by Putnam. Sandie peeked through the window and saw her ex-husband getting into a car as well.

There was a woman with him. A new victim, Sandie thought. Because in her gut, he couldn’t believe that this man was able to change his ways. She felt sorry for his new prey.

They Went Back Home 

Sandie and her kids went home. And the first thing that Sandie did was open an old photo album to compare the man that he had just seen with some pictures of Bertrand. And indeed, that was him at the mall. 

She spent a few minutes sitting in silence, reflecting on what she had just seen and all she went through years ago. She never thought she would see him again, let alone in those circumstances. Little did she know what was waiting for her.

Mind Fog

For the rest of the evening, Sandie’s mind was foggy. She was having a hard time coming to terms with what had just happened. 

She cooked her kids dinner, tucked them in, and kissed them goodnight on autopilot, while her thoughts kept revolving around her ex-husband. There was one particular thing about the whole episode that had just taken place hurting her more than a thousand pinpricks.

He Didn’t Say Anything

Putnam didn’t even acknowledge her or the kids, and that’s what was the most painful thing to Sandie. Whatever happened between her and him in the past was the past.

But not even say a peep to the kids? How could he disappear from their lives and leave them stranded just like that? Sandie shed a few tears as she went to bed. It took her a while to fall asleep. She could have never expected what would happen the following day.

She Was In For A Surprise

The morning after, Sandie was still affected by the previous day’s events. She prepared her kids breakfast, drove them to school, and then went to work. 

Now, she was a marketing assistant. She wasn’t rich by any means, but she could support herself and her children without any help from anyone. It took her a long way to get there, but the struggle made her stronger and more confident. However, one phone call that morning was about to pose a threat to her confidence. Would she crumble, or would she resist?

One Phone Call

After Sandie grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at her desk, she heard her phone ringing. When she saw the number on the screen, her blood froze in her veins.

It was Bertrand. Sandie knew he recognized her the day before. He had to. But why was he calling? Would he want to reconcile? Would he be willing to step up and be there for his kids for once in his life? Or did she want to just lure Sandie back in, or offer a fake apology to feel better about himself?

She Hung Up

Whatever it was, Sandie never found out. She didn’t want to hear anything about that man. She just hung up and blocked the number forever.

The past was the past. Now, she was a strong woman, she had two healthy and happy sons that she loved, and everything that she went through in the past was over. She placed her phone on the table, face down, and got working.

In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.