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1. 0:00My wife told me, "Apologize to my son or
2. 0:01we're getting a divorce." She expected
3. 0:03me to panic and back down. Instead, I
4. 0:04grabbed a bag and walked out. My wife
5. 0:06Karen and I were sitting at the dinner
6. 0:07table when the whole thing started.
7. 0:09Plates were still half full and her
8. 0:1026-year-old son Dylan was leaning back
9. 0:12in his chair scrolling through his phone
10. 0:14like he didn't have a care in the world.
11. 0:15Dylan hadn't worked in over a year. He
12. 0:17lived with us rent-free while I covered
13. 0:19his car insurance, phone bill,
14. 0:20groceries, and every I'll pay you back
15. 0:21expense that somehow never got paid
16. 0:23back. That night, I'd simply told him,
17. 0:25"You should probably start looking for a
18. 0:26job." I wasn't yelling. I wasn't
19. 0:27insulting him. I was giving him advice.
20. 0:29Dylan looked up, smirked, and said, "At
21. 0:30least my real dad didn't abandon me like
22. 0:32yours did." My father died in a car
23. 0:33accident when I was 17. Dylan knew that.
24. 0:35Karen knew that. For a second, I
25. 0:36couldn't breathe. I looked at Karen
26. 0:38expecting her to say something,
27. 0:39anything. She didn't. She just kept
28. 0:40cutting her food like Dylan had
29. 0:41commented on the weather. I pushed my
30. 0:43chair back and walked to the kitchen
31. 0:44because I didn't trust myself to speak.
32. 0:46My hands were shaking under the running
33. 0:47faucet. Then, Karen followed me.
34. 0:48"Apologize to him right now." I turned
35. 0:50around. "He just used my dead father to
36. 0:51insult me." Karen rolled her eyes. "You
37. 0:53embarrassed Dylan. Stop turning
38. 0:54everything into a fight." Then, Dylan
39. 0:56appeared in the doorway still wearing
40. 0:57that smug little smile. Karen pointed at
41. 0:59me. "Say you're sorry." Something inside
42. 1:00me went completely quiet. I looked at
43. 1:02her and said three words, "I'm done
44. 1:04here." Her confidence disappeared.
45. 1:05"Don't be dramatic." Then, she raised
46. 1:06her voice. "Come back." But, I was
47. 1:07already walking upstairs. I grabbed a
48. 1:09duffel bag and started throwing in
49. 1:10shirts, jeans, chargers, whatever my
50. 1:12hands touched. Karen stood in the
51. 1:13hallway blocking the door. "You can't
52. 1:14just leave." I zipped the bag.
53. 1:15"Apparently, I can." I walked past her,
54. 1:17got into my truck, and drove away before
55. 1:18I could convince myself to stay. I ended
56. 1:20up at my friend Ray's house. He opened
57. 1:21the door in a bathrobe, looked at my
58. 1:23face, and didn't ask questions. He just
59. 1:25stepped aside and said, "Couch is
60. 1:26yours." That night, my phone wouldn't
61. 1:27stop buzzing. First came Karen's sweet
62. 1:29messages. "Come home. Let's talk." Then,
63. 1:30the angry ones. "You're being
64. 1:31ridiculous." Then, desperate ones.
65. 1:33"Please come back." The next afternoon,
66. 1:34I went to my credit union to protect my
67. 1:36finances while we figured out the
68. 1:37separation. The employee helping me,
69. 1:39Linda, was reviewing our accounts when
70. 1:40she suddenly stopped. "There's something
71. 1:41you should know." She pulled up a fraud
72. 1:43alert. Two days before I left, Dylan had
73. 1:44tried charging nearly $6,000 to our
74. 1:46joint credit card as a down payment on a
75. 1:4822-foot boat. The transaction was
76. 1:50declined, but it triggered a fraud
77. 1:51investigation. Linda slid the dealer
78. 1:52paperwork across the desk. Dylan's name
79. 1:54was right there. He hadn't asked me. He
80. 1:55hadn't asked Karen. He'd simply tried to
81. 1:57use our money for a boat. I asked for
82. 1:58copies of everything. By that evening,
83. 2:00Dylan called. His voice was suddenly
84. 2:01very different. My card isn't working.
85. 2:03Karen's isn't working either. We can't
86. 2:04even get gas. Then, Karen grabbed the
87. 2:06phone. You're being vindictive. This
88. 2:07isn't like you. I thought about the
89. 2:08kitchen, about my father's death, about
90. 2:10her standing there demanding that I
91. 2:11apologize while Dylan smiled. I said, I
92. 2:13froze the accounts. You two aren't using
93. 2:15my money like that anymore. Karen
94. 2:16snapped, So you're punishing my son? No,
95. 2:18I said, I'm stopping him from taking
96. 2:19money he didn't earn. Dylan grabbed the
97. 2:20phone. It was a joke. You're so
98. 2:22sensitive. I answered, My father's death
99. 2:23isn't a joke. There was silence. Then,
100. 2:25he muttered, Fine. I'm sorry, okay? It
101. 2:27sounded less like an apology and more
102. 2:28like someone trying to get his credit
103. 2:30card back. Ray looked at me and said, If
104. 2:31you go back without real changes,
105. 2:32they'll learn that all they have to do
106. 2:34is push you hard enough and you'll cave.
107. 2:35Two weeks later, we met at a mediator's
108. 2:37office. Karen arrived with Dylan beside
109. 2:38her like he was her backup. I brought my
110. 2:40lawyer, Tom, and the folder from the
111. 2:41credit union. Karen started crying
112. 2:43before we'd even begun. I was just
113. 2:44trying to protect Dylan. You've changed.
114. 2:46Walking out was cruel. I looked at her.
115. 2:47You gave me an ultimatum after your son
116. 2:49mocked my dead father. Then, I laid out
117. 2:51everything I'd been paying for. His
118. 2:52insurance, his phone, his expenses, and
119. 2:54more than of him refusing to work. Dylan
120. 2:56tried to laugh it off, but the mediator
121. 2:57told him to stop. Then, Tom placed the
122. 2:59fraud alert on the