Our Island Family Life

Part 2

I wrote the first part of this before I was supposed to leave to get the kids. I went down to the boat and no boat. I called the bay lines and they changed the holiday schedule. Normally on a weekday we have to leave at 6:10am and 7:45 weekends and holidays. Now holidays are noon time. I cried the whole walk home. Now I wouldn't be able to meet the kids at 10am and bring them back. I have tried calling Sean for over and hour now to tell him I can't be there and that he will need to bring them back. He isn't answering his phone. I have left two messages as well. I know he might be opening presents and stuff but that's no reason not to answer. What if one of the boys were calling? This is kind of a emergency thing here and I have no way of letting him know. I want to cry all over again. Merry Christmas right?

I made myself a cup of tea and I am just going to try and chill.

So anyway, on my previous stuff. Sean was late picking the kids up yesterday. I had things to do in town and because he was late that made me late to catch the next boat home. I almost made it too. I was right there at the gate when they closed the boat doors and pulled away. *sigh* So I was pretty mad. It was just because I was SO close. If he had been on time I would have made it with time to spare. So, suck it up what can I do? I didn't want to walk all the way back to the garage with my bags and stuff so I thought I would grab something to eat. That would kill some of the 3 hours I had to wait for the next boat. The place I go to that I can afford and not walk forever was closed. Arrgghh. I had, had it. I went back to the bay lines and sat. If I had a book with me I would have been thrilled. Three hours of me time and a book. I didn't have one and the nearest book store was a little walk, which again would have been fine if I didn't have three heavy bags with me to lug. I wonder if the bay lines would consider installing lockers like a bus station? If you have to pay for them they might make a little profit for them. I was really wishing they had some right then. I had my laptop but no cord. I was saving it for the boat so I could write. I didn't want to kill my battery. I dug through Sofie's bag and found Cade's game boy and played that for a while. A couple of Will and Connor's friends were there and they saw me and came over and we took turns playing. I was getting pretty into the game so I must have looked funny because they were laughing at me. The game makes you move the game boy all over the place and I was walking around trying to get out of the sun to see better. So my little shouts of yes! and what! no! must have been a riot. Another friend of theirs showed up with a brand spanking new drivers license and they took off. I wished them well and hoped they didn't get killed. I called people and killed minutes. I read every free paper I could find. Usually people I know are around and we chat but since it was Christmas eve there wasn't anyone around. I did run into a lady who is friends with Sean's parents. She was going with a friend to another island on a different boat schedule than me so we only got to talk for about 10 minutes. She asked me how I was doing. She knows the deal. I asked her is she wanted me to say I was fine or be honest. She said honest. I said I was ok under the circumstances and filled her in on Sean not paying the child support and not speaking to Will and other things. She was very upset and disappointed in him when he left us and started his affair. She has known him his whole life. She no longer hugs him when she sees him and doesn't speak with him anymore. She was very sad to hear he was still being so hurtful and asked that we get together sometime. That was nice.

Sean just called back. He was very clip and sounded irritated with me. He said he would bring them home at 4pm. That is 4 hours later than I expected. I didn't get mad but asked him why he wasn't bringing them on the time that was planned for today. He said he had company this morning and it wouldn't be "cool" for him to take off for three hours. I told him I understood he had company but these were his kids and they need to take his first priority. What does Cade want to do? He was expecting to come home by noon time. Sean said he would be fine and that he had stuff to keep him occupied. I said I was sure he did but that wasn't answering my question or addressing Sean's priorities which should be his children and not his company. He said in my email the other day I had said the 4pm boat would be ok if he brought them so......

I replied I was explaining options that were available to us in the email. Not that is was ok and I asked him in the email what would be workable for both if us. He didn't answer my email so he had no right to use that as an excuse. This was also before we agreed on this boat and told our kids what was happening. Now that they have expectations we both should do what we can to keep them. Granted the boat schedule was outside both of our control and I have no control to be able to be there to get them. The only person between us to keep the trust with the kids was him. He just said he would be in of the 4pm boat. This makes me so....I dunno. If he had called me earlier I could have gotten a water taxi to come get me and then I could have brought the kids back on the 10am. It would have cost me a whole lot more money but then I would have done what I could to get them home on time. Will said he would even pay for the taxi for us. Isn't he sweet? I didn't want to use this option if he was going to bring them himself on the 10am boat. So, because he didn't answer the phone he cut me out of another option. Connor is jumping at the bit to open his presents but was cool with the idea of waiting until noon. Now he has to wait until 4pm. I suppose he doesn't really have to wait but he promised Cade he would and he isn't going back on his word like Sean did to Cade last year. When I came back from the dock this morning he asked me what was going on and I told him. Well, he was getting more frustrated than I was that his dad wasn't answering his phone. I finally told him to go play his xbox (lol, who would have thought I would say that!) and that I would let him know as soon as I knew. After the call, Connor came down the stairs and I told him 4pm. He asked me why his dad wasn't taking the 10am boat. I told him his dad had company and the 2:45 was easier for him. Connor just shook his head. He said, "Company? Doesn't he know Cade wants to come home?" I just shrugged. "Sucks to be Cade." was all he said and he went back upstairs. So, the award for pissing your kids off at Christmas time for the third year in a row is...Sean! I told Connor he could call his dad and ask him to bring his brother and sister home if he was so upset but he said he wasn't going to bother. His dad was going to do what he wanted anyway. He isn't even going to call him to wish him a Merry Christmas. It wasn't like Sean asked to speak to Will or Connor when he called earlier. He could have asked to wish them a Merry Christmas while he was on the line. Nope. Connor called him the year before last and Sean didn't want to talk with him about what Connor wanted to and said, "It's Christmas, do we need to talk about this today?" Connor told him it shouldn't matter what day it is when he needs to talk with his dad. Sean kept repeating, it's Christmas, it's Christmas over and over until finally Connor said, "Yes, it's Christmas and if I hadn't called you would you have called me?" I guess the question took Sean off guard because he didn't answer and Connor said, "See? You wouldn't have. So stop saying it's Christmas because it really doesn't mean anything to you anyway."

You know what's even more stupid than that? Me. I actually apologized to him at the end of the conversation about not being able to be there and that the earliest I could leave here would be noon. No matter which of us got the kids the earliest they could be here is 4pm now anyway. I was trying to keep things civil I think by doing that but still....it is his duty by court order to be bring them back anyway. I am too nice sometimes. I tried.