Hi, here's the story on finding out about all of them: *****Among the bills was a square envelope addressed to Mr. and Mrs. The return address was from a woman with the same last name as Todd, my married name. After deciding not to open the envelope, I practiced assertiveness skills, and then confronted Todd.
“Todd, who is this from?”
“Mind your p’s and q’s, woman.” Todd tore open the envelope, which contained an invitation.
“Todd, who is it from?”
“It’s from my daughter. She’s graduating high school.”
“You have children?”
“Yessiree. Four: Debra, Denise, Dorothy, and Donald.”
“Four? Four?”
“They’re from my first marriage, to Dottie.”
“First marriage? How many marriages were there?”
“Well, let’s see. You’re number eight. And you know what? I loved all my women.”
Loved? How well could he get to know an individual woman in a series of short-term marriages?
Todd named the wives in chronological order, counting twice one wife that he had married, divorced, and remarried. He admitted that he had been arrested for bigamy when he forgot to get divorced between his first and second marriages. The parents of the second wife sued him for fraud and misrepresentation, and had the marriage annulled.
“Her parents kept me from ever seeing my second wife again,” Todd whined.
“When was the last time you saw your children?”
“It’s been years. Dottie kept me from seeing them after I left her.”
The news of his numerous marriages came as a moment of truth: I had married a menace to society. How I could be so stupid? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I tried to deny that I had not discovered Todd’s deceit. Perhaps he did not really have six or seven previous wives. Perhaps if I pretended long and hard enough, it would all go away. Go away!