Tales from the steel city

I have stories to tell from work yesterday...But I'm sick of talking about that place - for now. Today's my day off. Finally!

Last night, I dropped my kids off in Hamilton to their dad. When I arrived, his girlfriend was not there, so he invited me to sit for a while which I did. We sat on the polluted porch for a while chatting casually while watching the bums, the police cars, ambulances and hookers go by. One guy stopped to preach at us about how Jesus could change our lives. The he-ex was surprisingly mellow with this guy. Usually he'd jump right into a long "theological" conversation. His glassy eyes told me that he was high and just couldn't be bothered at the time.

Then the girlfriend came home with a pizza. She walked right by me. I smiled and said hi but she ignored me. "What'd I do?" I asked the he-ex. He called her a bitch and told me that she was jealous of my boobs. The girlfriend brought out two plates of food for the he-ex without looking at me or saying a word. I really wanted to start something with her. I had a hundred sarcastic comments on the tip of my tongue but I refrained because of the kids.

Finally my former father-in-law arrived to pick up the he-ex and the kids for the weekend. Seeing me from the back, he cheerfully said, "Hi Shannon ( the girlfriends name ) How are you?" I turned around and smiled at him. "Oh you're not Shannon!" he said and then looked at the ground. The man can't even look at me! When I phone his house he pretends that he's never heard my name before! "No, I'm Janet" I answered, "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

It's hard to leave my two most precious little souls with these people sometimes.