She calls me up,

Twice in one evening.
I assume it’s just her usual call, about nothing at all.
But when I finally call her back,
She warns me.
I am afraid she has found out a secret about my life,
At college.

Instead,
She lets me know she filed for divorce,
On three accounts.
I thought my father had filed over two months ago, but apparently that wasn’t true.
Another misunderstanding.
It hadn’t happened.
He hadn’t done it.
My mother was the one to issue that final blow.

Alcoholism.

Adultery.

Abandonment.

All those words begin with “A,” The first letter of my name.

I am part of a beginning. I am part of an end.

I wish she hadn’t told me.

It alters my dread.
My father will now blame me as well.
“Abandonment” her lawyer added.
“To make sure we get enough money,” my mother said.

My father works hard,
But he blows the money.
He doesn’t know how to save.