I tried to watch what I said after that for fear of hurting anyone’s feelings. That lasted until the seventh class when one woman told us about her annulment. Mary, the one who was pre-pissed all the time, said she was having her twenty-five-year marriage annulled.
I was curious, “What is that?”
Mary went on, “That’s where you go before a priest and tell him and God your marriage was a mistake.”
“Wait a minute; don’t you have three kids with this man?” I asked.
“Yes I do.”
“So when you say to God your marriage was a mistake, do you mean your kids are a mistake as well?”
Mary said this did not include the kids and she had to have the annulment in order to be remarried in the Catholic Church. I said, “You really believe that?” Another blank gaze came from Mary; unwilling to admit to her part of the failed marriage.
The Catholic Church does not condone divorce so you must have your marriage annulled. Then you can go tell your friends you were not married. The sperm used to create these kids came from heaven but not from your ex-husband. Wondering what the others thought, I paused for a minute, looked around the class and saw only blank faces. Did these people believe that? I asked Mary if she really believed that. She said, “Not really, but I’m going to do it.”
