Untold Moments: Welcome Home, Mrs. Goth

Bella stared down at the divorce papers on the table, her hand hovering over the dotted line where she was supposed to put her signature. But no matter how loud her brain screamed at her hand to just write her name down and get it over with, her hand couldn’t obey.

She was scared.

As soon as she signed this piece of paper, it would be final. She couldn’t comfort herself with the cushion of purgatory her “separated” status offered her. Once she signed this paper, she wouldn’t be separated anymore. She would be divorced. And the finality of that terrified her.

“Mom? Are you okay?” she felt her daughter’s hand on her shoulder. Her daughter-in-law, Lilith, came up behind her and peeked over her shoulder at the papers on the table.

“Oh. That,” she said with gentle understanding in her voice.

“… Oh,” followed Ebony’s crestfallen realisation and Bella’s heart crumpled. It didn’t matter that all of her children were grown and married with families of their own. This divorce had still hurt all of them.

“I’m alright, girls,” Bella attempted to assure them in a shaky voice. “I’m just… having a bit of trouble making myself do what I know needs to be done, that’s all. It feels very… final.”

“Divorce usually is,” Lilith murmured but there was no judgement in her tone. It was more of a gentle reminder than an accusation. Lilith and her wife exchanged knowing looks over Bella’s shoulder and Ebony nodded her agreement to their silent conversation. She cleared her throat tentatively and leaned down to look her mother in the eye.

“Mom? Do you think the reason you’re having such a hard time signing these divorce papers is because you still love Dad?” she asked gently. “Maybe you don’t really want a divorce.”

Bella looked up at her youngest child with tears glistening in her eyes. “Oh honey… Nobody ever wants to get divorced. And of course I still love your father. He’s the father of my children, how could I not? But that doesn’t matter.”

“How does that not matter? Love is everything in a marriage.”

Bella shook her head with a sad little smile. “It’s a very big part of a marriage but it’s not everything, sweetheart. You and Lilith will understand this when you bring your babies home but your love for your children will always be greater than your love for your spouse. And if there’s ever a point in your lives when you have to make a choice, you will choose your children. No matter how much you love your spouse, you will always love your children most. I warned him numerous times that if he pushed our babies away, he’d lose me, too. I wouldn’t be a good mother to you if I didn’t keep my word.”

Ebony sighed and squeezed her mom’s shoulder. “I know, Mom. I know you made a huge sacrifice for us and we all think you’re so brave for that but… people can change. And Dad’s really shown that. I think the reality of losing us gave him the wake up call he needed. And almost losing Cassie and Lucy. It changed him for the better. He’s been nothing but a good father and grandfather since Lucy was born.”

“She’s right, Bella,” Lilith pointed out softly.

Bella turned to her daughter-in-law. “I’m surprised to hear you of all people say that. My husband’s been awful to both you and your brother from the moment he met you.”

Lilith shrugged “You weren’t exactly friendly and welcoming to us, either, when we met, remember? But you changed. I don’t know what it’s like to have a mother, Bella. But I’d consider you my mother now even if I wasn’t married to your daughter. I do know what it’s like to have a bad father, though. Mortimer isn’t it.”

“Mom…” Ebony sighed. “We just want you to be happy. Dad’s made mistakes but he’s doing his best to fix them and we’ve all forgiven him. So if that is the only thing holding you back… don’t do what your heart is telling you not to do, Mom. You and Dad have both been miserable ever since you separated. Will divorcing him for good really make you happy?”

“… No,” Bella admitted in a teary whisper. “I’ll be miserable for the rest of my life. Thank you. I know what I need to do now. I love you so much. Both of you,” she added with a glance at Lilith, who blinked in surprise and then ducked her head to hide the emotion on her face.

---

Bella knocked on the front door of the place she used to call home. Maybe she would be able to call it home again after today.

“Bella?” Mortimer said, stunned to see his estranged wife on his doorstep. “What are you doing here? Is everything alright?”

She showed him the divorce papers. His face fell.

“… Oh. I see,” he muttered sadly. “You didn’t have to deliver them directly, you know. You could have just forwarded it to the lawyers but um… Thank you.”

“I didn’t sign them, Mortimer.”

Mortimer blinked at her, nonplussed. He wasn’t sure he understood. “Wait… what?”

“I didn’t sign them,” she repeated. “I’m not going to sign them.”

“I, um… I don’t understand, Bella. You were the one who said you wanted a divorce…” he trailed off uncertainly.

“I know. But I lied. I don’t. I never did,” Bella choked out through her tears. “I thought I didn’t have a choice. I felt like you were making me choose between you and our children so I left you. I guess I thought if I didn’t go through with the divorce, I’d be being a bad mother to our children but Ebony reminded me today that people can change. And you have, Mortimer. I didn’t want to acknowledge it but you’ve been so good to Lucy and to Caleb and Lilith… and to our children. You set aside what you wanted to be there for them. Just like you always have for me our entire lives.”

“Ah, well…” Mortimer struggled to find the words to tell her just how much she meant to him. “You were right, Bella. Nothing is worth losing our children. Nothing. Not even vampires. In a strange way, I’m glad you left me because I don’t know if I ever would have woken up to how selfish I was being otherwise. Then we almost lost Cassie and our grandbaby and…” his voice cracked with emotion. “All of a sudden, all of the things I’d been angry about seemed so small and insignificant.”

He reached out to touch Bella’s cheek and she hesitantly touched his shoulder. “You’re a stubborn man, Mortimer. But you’re a good man. You gave up being a spellcaster because I wanted to raise our children as humans even though it put you at odds with your family. You’ve always stood by my side when I had no one on my side. You were there for Alexander and Elodie when they needed you in high school. You loved Cassandra through her pregnancy, too. You never even batted an eyelash. You just loved us all, flaws and everything. There isn’t anything you wouldn’t do for us.”

Tears rolled down Mortimer’s cheeks. “I always tried to love you all through everything. I’m so sorry I let you all down, Bella. But I’m trying. I’ll always keep trying even if I never fully mend the damage I did to our family.”

“I know. That’s why I’m doing this.” Bella stepped away from Mortimer and held the divorce papers up. Slowly and deliberately, she crumpled them up in her hands until the document was an unreadable ball of gibberish and tossed it on the ground at their feet. “To hell with the divorce, Mortimer. I’ve been Mrs. Goth my entire adult life and I intend to stay Mrs. Goth for the rest of my life if you’ll have me.”

“You never stopped being Mrs. Goth to me, Bella,” Mortimer said. “Welcome home, darling. I’ve missed you so much.”