At first, it was just a joke. Before my husband Travis’s office Christmas party, I wrote a funny message on his chest to tell possible partners to stay away. But I had no idea that message would start a chain of events that would change my life for good.
He often got drunk at these events, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the night would bring. I helped him to bed when he finally got home after being out for hours, and I saw that the writing on his chest had been smudged. What caught my eye, though, was what was written below: “Keep the change.”
At first, I thought it was something silly that one of his friends said. But as the night went on, more evil was going on. Who wrote that message? What did it mean?
I asked Travis about the party in passing the next morning, but he didn’t seem to want to answer. I couldn’t help but feel uneasy getting stronger. I felt like trust was weak for the first time in our five-year marriage.
I told my mom about it, and she told me to follow Travis’s car to see if he was hiding anything. At first I wasn’t sure what to do, but the doubt was getting to me. I took a deep breath, and then I put a GPS tracker in his car.
After a few days, everything seemed fine. Then Travis called to say he had to work late. When I found his car, it was going the wrong way from home, which made my heart sink. The GPS took me to a nice neighbourhood, where I was shocked to see Travis come out of a house with another woman.
Everything after that was a blur. I took pictures as proof and then talked to Travis and the woman. “You deserve better,” she said in a chilling voice. This kind of husband should be treated like extra change.
It broke my heart into a million pieces as I walked away from the scene. But even though it hurt, I got clear. This wasn’t the end; it was the start of something new. It was a part where I would find myself again, get over being hurt, and learn how to fight for what I believed was right.
As I sat in front of our Christmas tree, lights sparkling, I knew that this holiday season would be one of change. This event taught me things that I would use to make myself better and smarter. And to answer your question, I would “keep the change,” which means I would leave the broken pieces of my past behind and look forward to a better future.
