ABSTRACT
“It was a wonderful weekend,” says Tom Tolman, the biological parent of 8-year-old Ricky, “until Jenny messed it up as usual.” “It was an awful weekend,” says Jenny Tolman, Tom’s second wife, “right from the start.” Tom’s story:
Well, we got up nice and early on Saturday, and we got a really good start. We drove up to New Hampshire and picked up Ricky right on time. It was so good to see him. Then we all went together and watched this neat parade. Ricky was beside himself having a good time. And I felt wonderful, there with my whole family—Ricky and me and Jenny. Then we went out to McDonald’s for lunch. Then I had this great idea for us all to end the day by driving to our favorite spot on the beach and watching the sunset together.
All of a sudden Jenny turns completely sour. Out of the blue, mind you. We ended up having a fight in front of Ricky. The day was ruined. We drove back to the cottage absolutely silent. We haven’t been able to talk about it since. I’m so bummed out. My one weekend with Ricky and she messes it up. I can’t believe she’d do this to me.
