Chapter Thirty:

Welcome to Chapter Thirty! Kind of can't believe it actually got this long! But there you have it. This chapter starts about a month after Ziggy suffered a midlife crisis and left his beloved wife.

Petra was taking a stroll through the graveyard, trying to figure out where her loving and stable marriage took such an awful turn, when she saw a familiar figure standing by her mother's gravestone.

It was unclear who moved first. But after four long weeks apart, finally Ziggy was holding the woman of his dreams tenderly in his arms.

Ziggy held her in his arms and sobbed in to her shoulder. He told her that the kids had come to find him and talk some sense into him. He told her that seeing his ghostly children standing at the door of his hotel room made him realise that the thing he left to find, was already at home. He told her that he made the biggest mistake in leaving her. They didn't move from that spot for a long time.

Eventually they walked home together. After the last few weeks they felt like they had been through an emotional tornado. They both felt like they were starting a new relationship. They felt raw and vulnerable. But as Petra told her husband as they slowly made it up the driveway into their family home, they would be there for each other, to rebuild their marriage.

 

Ziggy washed the red hair dye out of his hair, and quietly slipped back into his family.

The kids didn't comment much on Ziggy's return. Just a quick hello and a hug, and a small smile for Petra. Life returned to normal.

Now that the kids had managed to get Petra and Ziggy back together, it was time to return to school. They had a nice family breakfast together before the taxi's started arriving.

With the kids gone, Petra and Ziggy were finally alone again. There was no forgetting what Ziggy had done, his new hair colour may have been washed away, but his tattoos remained.

But the one thing that had been missing since his birthday was finally back; the love he had for Petra shone as bright as ever.

That afternoon they renewed their vows. The promises they made the day they married so long ago were spoken again and they hoped this was the end to that sad chapter in their lives.

 

Ziggy felt terrible for what he put Petra through. And while she slept that night he made another vow. He would spend the rest of his life making it up to this wonderful woman.

Life returned to normal. Ziggy returned to life at the lab, and worked hard to get his next promotion. Which meant working on his mechanical skills.

The kids were settled back in to school and Petra continued to call them and check in every other day.

Petra began churing out best sellers again. She was soon earning quite a lot in royalties.

Petra liked heading over to the lab to have lunch with Ziggy.

One afternoon Petra had stopped outside City Hall. She was thinking about her next book, based on the tragic housefire that claimed the life of her aunty, father and cousin. A familiar figure caught her eye from across the quad.

Her missing cousin was racing right past her. What should Petra do?

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Welcome to chapter Twenty-Nine. Petra and Ziggy Diehl's kids Esmeralda and Felix are at boarding school with their mother's cousins kids Mia and Lexi. The youngest Diehl child Anastasia is about to head off to join her family at boarding school.

 

 

 

Petra and Anastasia enjoyed a nice breakfast together before Anastasia had to leave for school. Petra was a little sad to be seeing her youngest leave the house, but she knew that her little girl would have a valuable time at her new school.

 

 

Anastasia was so excited to be following the other kids in her family and heading off to school.

Just a day after Anastasia left for school, Petra's eldest Esmeralda headed home after her birthday for a weekend at home.

She was more like her mother than ever.

Esmeralda was glad to be home for a little while, but looking forward to going back to school on Monday. She had made one special friend at school, Sam Peters. He was the only guy she'd ever met that was a ghost, just like her.

Ziggy spent some time with his eldest girl before she headed off again. He was so proud of her, and she reminded him so much of his lovely wife.

Before long Esmeralda was heading back to school. She was a little sad to say goodbye to her folks again, but she longed to see her friend Sam.

Petra celebrated her birthday without fuss.

She had achieved so much in the years since she left high school. While other people her age were just starting to think of settling down, Petra had married young and already had three beautiful children of her own.

Ziggy's birthday also passed with little recognition.

A few extra lines added to his face, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, and Ziggy was now an adult.

As he curled up next to his lovely wife, Ziggy began to think about his life. As he held the ghostly form of the woman who had shared his bed for years, he thought about all the things he hadn't achieved yet. He had spent his whole life by Petra's side and he realised that he had never been out in the world properly.

The next few days Ziggy couldn't get that thought off his mind. It was driving him to distraction and so one morning he left work after only an hour. He decided to take a little trip around town. He didn't tell his wife.

Ziggy walked for hours around town. Just thinking about what he wanted. He decided he needed a change. Something to shake up his life a bit, get him out of this rut. So he stopped off at the beauty parlour.

Instead of getting his hair cut, he brushed it out a bit and he dyed it.

Petra didn't say anything when her husband returned home that night. She gave him a kiss like always and left it at that. She wouldn't tell him, but she felt a little hurt that he hadn't spoken to her about this impromtu makeover.

It felt good to be a little different, and so Ziggy decided to carry on with this theme and headed off to the tatoo parlour a few days later. He wasn't thinking about Petra.

A little unorthodox , but Ziggy liked his new ink. He loved the thrill of doing new things.

Speaking of doing new things, Ziggy started flirting with his tattoo artist. And when she asked him for a stroll through Sunflower Park, he agreed.

Nothing serious happened between Ziggy and this young woman, it was just the thrill of the unknown that made Ziggy's mood instantly pick up.

Petra wasn't sure what to say to her husband anymore. He seemed to be pushing her away. The house was so quiet with the kids all at boarding school. The days turned into weeks and Petra began to feel more and more alone as Ziggy retreated away from her.

Eventually the normally calm Petra could take no more and asked Ziggy was the problem was. She asked him about the hair, the new clothes, the tattoos and his weird mood. Ziggy didn't really respond. He should have told his wife what he was thinking, but he didn't. Instead he continued to push her away, breaking her heart a little more each moment.

After Petra annoyed him with her questioning Ziggy went for a walk.

Flirting with other women continued to be Ziggy's newest entertainment.

Petra was still working on her computer when Ziggy came home. She didn't know what he'd been up to, but she smelt the perfume. Neither one said anything, and Petra silently cried herself to sleep.

That night Lexi and Mia came home after having celebrated their birthday at school.

  Lexi was quite a free spritied young woman.

While her twin sister Mia was a little more conservative and reserved. But both teens looked remarkably like their mother.

The girls were surprised to say the least at Ziggy's appearance. But they were determined to enjoy their weekend at home, so they said nothing about it.

Unfortunately for Ziggy one of his flirty park conquests called him while the girls were in the room. They overheard his sweet whispers to this woman who was not his wife, and they felt uneasy.

The girls talked about it and decided to keep an eye on Ziggy, they loved him but they didn't want to see him hurt Petra.

That night Ziggy was sneaking off again and Petra had finally had enough.

She hadn't intended to shout at him, especially in front of the girls, but all the hurt over the last few weeks came bubbling over.

 

Ziggy was just so sick of this domestic life. And so instead of fighting with his wife, he just left.

Petra was so hurt. She loved Ziggy. She had loved him since they were teenagers and they sat under the stars together. She loved him when he teared up as they exchanged vows. She loved him when he would walk by her side in the graveyard. She loved him when he held their first child. She loved him more than anything in the world. But now it felt like he didn't love her, and it broke her heart.

Petra stood by the open door as Ziggy stalked away from the house. Lexi was shocked. She made sure Petra was ok before she and her sister retired for the night. But Petra was a strong woman, she saved her tears for when she was alone.

The twins were worried. They were heading back to school the next day, but neither one of them wanted to leave Petra alone. Especially because they didn't know if Ziggy would ever come home.

Petra didn't want to go to bed. Instead, she carried on her latest best seller. It was pretty hard to see through her tears, but eventually she called it a night and went to bed.

This was the first time she had spent the whole night in a bed by herself since she and Ziggy had grown up into young adults. Needless to say, she didn't sleep well.

Lexi and Mia had called Petra's kids over night and decided that an intervention needed to happen. They told the rather quiet Petra that the kids were all coming home in a week or so, to keep her company. Lexi had also decided that she was going to remain at home while Mia headed back to school for the week, to keep Petra company.

Lexi waited on the driveway to meet Petra's kids as they got out of the taxis at the end of the week. It had been a strange week. Petra was quieter than usual, but got on with everyday tasks as if nothing were amiss. Still no word from Ziggy.

After saying hello to their mother and expressing their condolences over Ziggy's departure, a family meeting was called.

Felix, Lexi, Mia, Esmeralda and Anastasia were a tight family unit at school, and they talked for hours on how best to help Petra. As the full moon rose and crossed the night sky, Petra's beloved family decided on how best to help her.

The kids were staying for a few weeks, and while Petra knew they were doing it to help her, she still felt alone. She knew the kids were worried about her, and to be honest she worried too. She still loved Ziggy and she missed him every day.

The days began to move slowly by. Still no word from Ziggy, and the kids settled back into their life at home.

It had been about 2 weeks since Ziggy left and still no word. The kids were getting worried, they knew that Petra and Ziggy belonged together, and he had better get over this mid life crisis soon, or Petra wouldn't be the same woman he left.

About three and a half weeks after Ziggy left, Esmeralda and Felix took a trip out into the town. Petra didn't ask them where they were going, she just carried on tidying the house as she had been doing since her husband left.

Petra's writing had taken a back seat in her life. She had become such a well known writer and she took such joy in sharing her family's history with the town, but she was feeling so lost since Ziggy left, she couldn't bring herself to write anymore. Instead she liked to walk through the graveyard, and try to figure out where her marriage had gone wrong.

One such afternoon Petra was taking a stroll through the graveyard when she saw a familiar figure standing by her mother's grave.

Thanks for reading chapter twenty nine. Thirty is coming soon!