Free Passionate Tides by J.N Johnson

It had been nearly two months since the papers officially ending Paisley’s marriage of ten years were dropped off at her door. Two months she had spent hiding from the truth that she was now alone. Her husband Vince had already moved on, on top of his secretary Elise, that is. Paisley sat alone at her kitchen table, one of the only things left in her empty home after he took all of his belongings to her place.
    “What in the world am I supposed to do now?” she asked her cat Major, as he rubbed against her legs. She had met Vince when they were in the tenth grade. They had been high school sweethearts and then college roomies. On graduation night, he popped the big question, going down on one knee, asking her to spend the rest of her life with him. She said yes, of course. He was everything a girl could wish for, sweet and charming, and had always treated her like a princess.
    But when he started staying late at the office and coming home smelling like perfume that wasn’t hers, she knew something was up. She regretted spending so much time in front of her computer, pursuing her career as a writer, and not living out the romantic scenes that she wrote about. Maybe this is my fault, if I’d only spent more time with Vince and not my imaginary friends, I would still have my husband.
    The shrill ring of her phone woke her out of a self-induced coma. She rushed to answer it, hoping that the person on the other end would help ease her lonesome torment. “Hello.”
    “Hey girl, I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing.” It was her best friend, Tiffany. Pretty, blonde, Tiffany, with her perfect husband, perfect kids, and perfect little beach house. Until Vince had left Paisley high and dry with no one to talk to and up to her neck in debt, she never once begrudged her friend for any of her achievements. Their parents had been friends, so they had grown up together, spending every weekend on family adventures or summer vacations. She had watched Tiffany fall in love and marry the man of her dreams, then start the family she had always wanted. Tiffany was living the life that she had always dreamed of having, and, no matter how shitty her life had turned out, she was happy that her friend had found true happiness.
    Now the perky voice on the line made her cringe; her failures seemed worst somehow around happy people. The echo of Vince’s voice rang loud and clear in her mind “Why do you keep doing this to yourself Paisley, you will never make it as a writer, just like you failed at being a wife. I can’t do this anymore; I need a woman who is full of excitement, not someone who just sits on her ass staring at a blank screen all day.”
    “I’m doing the best I can, how about you? How are the kids?” She never liked being the center of attention. She felt more comfortable hiding out in front of her computer screen with her imaginary friends than being in the public eye, so she changed the subject.
    She heard Tiffany take a deep breath and let it out on a long sigh. Her friend had always tried to fix things her way and she knew a speech was coming, but there weren’t any words that would erase what she was feeling inside. Determined that she wasn’t going to let her preach to her about moving on, she let Tiffany continue.
    “The kids are doing great. Katie’s starting kindergarten in the fall. She’s so excited. Todd’s going into the fourth grade this year. His baseball team made it to the playoffs.”
    Staring wide eyed, Paisley tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. She tried to be happy for Tiffany and her family, but her heart was breaking with every bit of good news that her friend relayed about her life. She began to wonder what her life would have been like if she had married a man like Tiffany’s husband, and had became the soccer mom instead of putting her plans for a family on hold until she had a book published. Her rambling thoughts caused her to miss part of the