The End of Normal by Stephanie Madoff Mack

Author:Stephanie Madoff Mack
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-09-23T22:00:00+00:00

Nineteen days later, Mark tried to kill himself.

It was a beautiful Wednesday in October, and my mom and I had gone with Audrey on a preschool class trip to pick apples in the morning. We had plans to see a matinee of The Lion King. Mark had meetings with some people about the newsletter and came home around five. We fed the kids and gave them their baths, and I went to check my e-mail. There was one from Ruth, breezily telling me that she had just had the most wonderful time with Kate and Daniel up at Susan’s. All these months, I had been there for Ruth, and I was the one who had gotten Kate and Daniel back into her life after Bernie’s arrest, arranging visits with them for her at our home in Greenwich. I was under the impression Susan wasn’t speaking to Ruth. In an instant, that old rivalry flared again, and I lost it.

“I can’t deal with your mother anymore,” I snapped at Mark. “She plays both sides of the coin. You know what? I can’t stand it. I’m writing her a nasty e-mail back!”

“Don’t,” Mark pleaded. I ignored him and went to my computer.

Glad you had a nice dinner with Susan and thanks for the dagger, I wrote Ruth. I went back at it with Mark.

“I don’t understand why that controlling bitch is always in our life,” I said of his ex. “Mark, you know how helpful I’ve been to your mother! I found a shrink for her! I helped her look for apartments. My friend offered her free PR advice. I’ve let her see the kids, and had her over for dinner.”

The fight escalated until Mark left a little before nine.

“I’m going out for a walk,” he said. He didn’t take Grouper. He’d done this before to avoid fighting, and always came back after five minutes. This time he didn’t. An hour passed. I called a girlfriend to vent and hung up after half an hour. Mark still wasn’t home. I tried to call him and heard his phone ring. Mark never left without his iPhone, never once forgot it. I knew he had intentionally left it behind. I found it in the kitchen, picked it up, and smashed the screen against the corner of the granite countertop. I called my friend again.

“He’s not coming back,” I told her. This was the first time in our entire relationship that I couldn’t reach him. My frustration soon turned to panic. I called my parents, who tried to calm me down. I dialed a few of Mark’s friends, playing calm, asking each one, “Is Mark with you by any chance?” It was close to midnight. I knew if I called the police, it would be a story in the paper, but I didn’t care anymore. My instinct was screaming that something wasn’t right. Fighting hysteria, I dialed 911.

“Hi. This is Stephanie Madoff. I’m really worried. My husband’s been missing a few hours.”

Two officers, a male and a female, showed up within ten minutes.

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