I was healing. We were going to be okay. The divorce finalized on a Tuesday morning in late January. Victoria called me at work to say the judge had signed the papers and it was officially done. No dramatic courtroom scene or last minute arguments, just signatures on legal documents that ended a 2-year marriage. I thanked her for everything she’d done to help me through the process.
She said I’d done the hard part by standing up for myself and my daughter. After we hung up, I sat at my desk staring at my computer screen for a few minutes, processing the fact that I was no longer married. The relief I felt was bigger than any sadness. That night, I picked Lily up from the school and told her we were going out to celebrate.
She asked what we were celebrating, and I said our fresh start. We went to her favorite Italian restaurant and ordered too much food and talked about redecorating the living room now that we could make it feel like ours again. Lily wanted to paint one wall a dark blue color and hang string lights across the ceiling. We talked about planning a summer trip together, maybe driving up the coast, and staying in little beach towns.