A woman is left bankrupt by her deceitful ex-husband, and years later she discovers him working as a parking valet at a restaurant.
Jenny Carlson, 45, has been married for twenty-seven years. She spent the majority of those years happily raising her children when Jenny thought her husband loved her.
But Brad had changed. While Jenny had dedicated herself to their children and their home, Brad had committed himself to producing a lot of money.
He used to say, “Jenny, we’re partners, 50/50, and don’t you forget it! I couldn’t be such a success without you.” Jenny believed him, and she was confident that he would be as honest with her as she was with him.
It’s difficult to say exactly when Jenny recognized her marriage was finished. Perhaps it was when Brad forgot her birthday twice, and it stopped hurting.
Jenny knew she no longer loved Brad as she sat alone in her bedroom, waiting for him. She loved and admired him, and he was her best friend, but the romance was over.
Do what you do best the best you can.
A few days later, Jenny said, “Are you happy, Brad?”
He looked up from his laptop, frowning. “Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because,” Jenny said calmly. “You don’t love me anymore.”
Brad pushed his hands to his forehead and closed his eyes. “Oh, Jen…” he muttered. “Please, babe, can we talk about this in two weeks’ time? I have a huge deal…I want to be able to give us my full attention.”
“Ok,” Jenny agreed. “Two weeks…”
“Please, babe,” Brad said with tears in his eyes. “Please don’t give up on us. Just give me a little time, okay?”
Jenny did, and she got a surprise! Brad arrived just two weeks later. “The deal went through!” he exclaimed.
“Can we talk tonight,” Jenny asked. “About us.”
Brad sat down on the couch and crossed his legs casually. “We can talk now!” he said. “So… do you want a div:orce or not?”
“A div:orce?” Jenny gasped. “I thought you… You told me not to give up on us!”
“Oh, you know!” Brad waved a hand. “The things we say under pressure…”
“I see,” Jenny said. “In that case, I will contact a lawyer and file the motion…”
“I already did,” Brad said smiling. “And I also filed for bankruptcy. You’re not getting a CENT of my hard-earned money.”
“But you always said we were equal partners,” Jenny gasped. “50/50, you said.”
“Forget it,” Brad said. “That’s just one of those things I said. It didn’t mean anything.”
“Like ‘I love you,’” said Jenny bitterly.
“Exactly!” Brad said.
Jenny had nothing by the time the div:orce was finalized. She received only half of the house’s equity, most of which was used to cover legal fees.
Fortunately for Jenny, her three children had grown up and moved out. She only had herself to worry about, so she rented a small apartment and began looking for job.
Jenny had no qualifications or experience. She married Brad right out of high school, with her eldest child on the way. She had been the best mother, but that was no longer worth anything.
Jenny sat on her second-hand couch, crying, after pounding the pavements all day. The previous woman who interviewed her had been pleasant. “Find something you do better than anyone else,” she advised.
“What can I do better than anyone?” she asked herself. Then she grinned. Her granny made chocolate pie! Jenny received her grandmother’s recipe book, and chocolate pie was a family favorite.
The next day, she got up at 4:00 a.m. and started baking. At 7:00 p.m., she appeared at the door of the fancy café across the street, holding two pies.
“If you don’t sell the pies,” Jenny explained. “I’ll pay you. What have you got to lose?”
By 11:00, the café owner had called Jenny and requested two additional pies for the afternoon crowd. Then people began ordering complete pies to take home rather than just a slice.
Jenny was a busy woman, and she became more busier when another café approached her, followed by another… One day, a buyer from a deli chain approached her and offered to buy the pies frozen.
Jenny established a factory and developed her own brand, Aunt Gigi’s Pies, in collaboration with the proprietor of the first café. It was a huge success, and Jenny was well on her way to being a wealthy woman three years later.
It wasn’t just her professional life that was thriving. She’d just started dating again, with a lovely French food critic who adored her and enjoyed chocolate pie.
Jenny got all suited up for her date with her charming French lover at one of the city’s most exclusive restaurants. She looked amazing! She got into her brand-new tiny red convertible and headed downtown.
She came to a halt at the restaurant’s entrance, got out of her car, and prepared to hand over the car keys to the valet. She gasped as she stared at the man once more. “BRAD?”
Brad was parking cars, dressed in an ill-fitting crimson blazer and a black bow tie. In reality, he was about to park HER automobile. Brad flushed and looked uncomfortable.
“Jenny,” he answered, smiling weakly. “You look great!”
Jenny took a look him over and said, “You don’t! What happened to you?”
Brad shrugged. “After we divo:rced,” he admitted, “everything went wrong. I made some bad investments…I lost everything, Jenny.”
“Oh, you poor thing!” Jenny cried and dug into her purse. “Here you go, for old time’s sake!” With a beautiful grin, she placed a bill in her ex-husband’s hand.
Brad had left her with nothing three years ago; now he had nothing, and she was leaving him with more than he had given her — a $1 tip!
“You take care of my car, now!” she murmured casually as she entered the restaurant, where a lovely man and a wonderful evening awaited her.