I severed all ties with Tom and stopped contact with him. Ignored all his pleas to visit him that Ian Saunders frequently passed on to me.
My divorce went through quite quickly due to the fact that my husband was incarcerated and that we had already undergone a long-term separation.
So, finally, something I never thought would ever happen did – I was free. Free in every sense of the word. I felt like I had ingested some mind-altering illegal drug – I was just so high on life.
What made it different this time was that Tom was safely behind bars, I was with a man who shared a blood-secret with me, and I had all the money I needed.
I couldn’t ask for anything more. Except for my beloved baby Sasha. I would have given all my freedom to have her back in my arms. But that wasn’t going to happen.
When Bear asked me to marry him, we were in South Africa enjoying a wonderful vacation. Amy accompanied us, and that made it all just perfect for both of us.
We were on safari with my family, watching two lions nuzzle each other, when Bear turned to me and whispered, “I wanna do that too.”
“Okay, why don’t we run it by the ranger, see if he can ask the lion permission for you to nuzzle it?” I joked.
He laughed and took me into a playful headlock. “Smartarse, I wanna marry you and nuzzle you forever.”
“What?”
He released me and took me into his arms. “Be a gun to my holster? Say yes, ’cause I’m really looking forward to jumping on Oprah’s couch.”
I laughed and took his face in my hands. “Yes! I will be a gun to your holster. I will marry you, my love.”
Two days later, in the presence of our kids, my family members, the staff of the game lodge we were staying in, amidst lions and tigers and under a molasses sky, I became Mrs. Arena Shaw.
Life was good.
Life was perfect.