His First Wife

“But what if it doesn’t happen? What if you’re not accepted?”

“I will be. I know it,” I pleaded. “I just need to focus on it and it’ll happen. Weren’t you the one who told me to keep the faith?

“I can’t leave you here . . . not with that woman.” He looked down toward my mother in the car. “If you go home . . . I mean, Kerry, I’ve seen what she does to you. How she makes you feel when she’s around—like you can’t do anything right.”

I started crying. Everything Jamison was saying was right, but he didn’t understand. I needed him to do this . . . to go to school.

“I can’t let you stay,” I said.

“It’s already done,” he said with his voice hardened. “They gave me one year and I’m going to help you with applications and in the meantime, I’ll help my cousin start this lawn care business.”

“Lawn care?”

“Yeah, he already has a truck. I just need to help him find the work. You know, match my brains with his muscle. There’s a lot of money in it right now. We can branch out. Grow it.”

“What are you talking about? Grow it? You’re going to med school. That’s what we talked about.”

“Baby,” he pulled me into his arms “I’m going back to school. I promise. Just one year. Trust me.”

INSTANT MESSENGER TRANSCRIPT

DATE: 5/03/07

TIME: 12:43 AM

Coreenissocute: Hellooooooo. Are you there?

JamminJamison: What do you want, Coreen?

Coreenissocute: Come on, don’t be like that.

JamminJamison: I told you I don’t think we need to communicate on-line like this.

Coreenissocute: Look, if I was going to be a bitch and send e-mails to your wife, don’t you think I would’ve done that already? I’m not like that. You know that. I just can’t ever get you on the phone and I wanted to talk about what happened this weekend.

JamminJamison: I told you I specifically don’t want to talk about that.

Coreenissocute: Why not?

JamminJamison: Because I just don’t.

Coreenissocute: Why? It was wonderful. You were wonderful.

JamminJamison: Thank you.

Coreenissocute: That’s all you have to say is thank you?

JamminJamison: I just said I don’t want to talk about it.

Coreenissocute: You didn’t enjoy it?

JamminJamison: Yes, I did.

Coreenissocute: What did you enjoy about it?

JamminJamison: Are you serious? I just said I don’t want to talk about it.

Coreenissocute: Look, Jamison, all I’m asking is that you tell me what you liked. That’s it.