The gap between Perla and Don was apparent when they were looking for a place to live. He was down to earth and she was anything but….. In the end Don conceded and they bought a condo in a very exclusive area. Perla’s father gave them some money, Don’s parents added a little bit more and they took out a mortgage for the balance.
After the couple moved to their condo, Perla’s father made it clear he would not subsidize her exorbitant lifestyle anymore. He told her that as a married woman and a mother, she had to handle her money responsibly, otherwise they would not be able to keep the condo.
Don wanted to enjoy his marriage and his newborn son before bringing any more children, while Perla wished for a larger family as soon as possible. But hey, he wasn’t the one who made the decisions…… As a result, the second child was born approximately one year after the first one, and the baby girl was born 18 months later.
Perla stopped working after her first child was born. She was a devoted mother and did not want to leave her son with a nanny. Perla and Don had three children in three years which made it difficult for them financially. Don was the only one who supported the family and over time he had to get a second job to pay their bills.
Anyway, Perla adored designer clothes and when she was working she would spend almost all of her salary on them. This habit did not change after she stopped working. Not only that, but from the time her children were babies she would buy them designer clothes as well, particularly for her daughter. This meant they would wear the clothes no more than a couple of months as they would quickly outgrow them which made Don very upset.
At some point Don was fed up with working so hard and having no money left at the end of the month. In addition, the apartment wasn’t big enough for them anymore. They had to look for a bigger condo or house which caused many disagreements between them. They would frequently fight in front of the children. They also stopped talking to each other for several days at a time. Although Perla’s father said he wouldn’t give her money anymore, he never said no when she came crying to him and asked for his help.
The burden of earning a living as well as the daily arguments he was having with Perla changed the way Don felt about her. He didn’t try to please her anymore and in fact, he didn’t want to be around her at all. He finally realized that she really didn’t love him and she didn’t appreciate what he did for her and their children. All she wanted was to have children, and that’s what she cared about.
Don left Perla five years after they got married, and moved in with his parents. Both sets of parents tried to mediate between them at least for the sake of their children, who were very young. But Don decided he didn’t want anything to do with Perla and refused to budge. He wanted a divorce and to be rid of her.
The divorce process wasn’t pleasant to put it mildly. After it was finalized, Don stayed with his parents as he couldn’t afford to rent an apartment. As part of the divorce agreement, Don was supposed to take the kids twice a week. But because he was putting in many hours at work, he wasn’t always able to do it. Perla claimed he was neglecting the children. She said he wasn’t looking after them when they were with him, but that his mother did.
Perla had to find a job after the divorce. This wasn’t easy as she wanted a part time job which would allow her to also look after the kids. Perla never knew what it was like to be out of money. She suddenly understood that she had to find a way to support herself and to pay part of the mortgage.
She had to sell her fancy car and some jewelry she owned to raise some money. Her father got back into the picture and was helping her financially as much as possible. She couldn’t find a suitable job but instead worked at a number of temporary jobs. After a while Don moved on with his life. He started dating again and with a lot of hard work, he managed to rent an apartment.
He also met a very nice lady who was suitable for him and they got married after dating for approximately two years. His wife appreciated him for the hard working and sincere person he was and was very supportive of him. She had a child from a previous marriage and they had two children together.
However, the last I heard Perla stayed single. She dated a number of men but none of the relationships lasted too long. I always felt bad for Perla and Don’s children as they had to pay the price for their parent’s failed marriage. The relationship between the two of them was doomed to fail right from the start. No matter how hard he tried, Don couldn’t provide Perla with the lifestyle she wanted…..
With Experience Comes Wisdom 