Chapter 17 - The Marriage
I filed for divorce.
No dramatic property war.
Prenup.
Separate premarital assets.
Joint household account.
Furniture.
Cars.
Celeste requested temporary support under state law.
Negotiated.
Reasonable.
No financial punishment.
I could have made litigation miserable.
Did not.
My attorney said:
“Keep child case and money separate.”
Correct.
Celeste claimed I had emotionally manipulated her after Nora’s death by comparing her with a dead wife.
Possible.
I probably had.
I told her:
“Nora would have understood.”
Sometimes.
Cruel without intending.
I expected Celeste to step into family routines but also never disturb Nora’s memory.
A hard role.
I had not built a clear one.
That did not cause suitcase confinement.
But our marriage contained failures before crime.
Celeste wrote in mediation:
“I wanted Grant to prove I was his family by choosing me over Nora’s memory.”
There.
I had no way to provide that proof.
Nor should I.
People do not have to erase the dead to love the living.
But I could have reassured her differently.
Instead I often said:
“You knew what you married.”
Dismissive.
She grew resentful.
Then controlling.
Separate responsibilities.
The divorce finalized sixteen months later.
No reconciliation.
No sequel marriage drama.
May you like
Done.
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