How a $20 Check Ended a 25-Year Marriage

It was a lunch break that changed the course of lives

Photo by Money Knack on Unsplash

My red Converse high tops pushed hard on the gas pedal, all the way to the floor.

I couldn’t go fast enough.

The winding road of the long way home made the high speed especially thrilling.

Was I going home?

I was going away.

The tape player pumped out Metallica as I focused on one goal: Just keep going.

Away.

I don’t know how long the police car chased me before I noticed.

I pulled over dutifully.

I knew.

I turned the radio down and waited.

Through the already-opened window, the officer asked for my information. Asked where I was headed. Why so fast?

I told him — just off work, bad day, just getting out frustration.

I told him I knew I was going too fast, and that I’d take it easy the rest of the way.

He mumbled something, a joke maybe, and let me go with a warning.

I did not want to go home — but I knew it was the only place I’d get the full story.