My Ex’s Family Threw a Party to Celebrate Getting Rid of Me, but the New Locks and Everything on the Front Lawn Ended Their Celebration Fast

White linen.

Crystal glasses.

A silver bucket holding two bottles of champagne.

My ex-husband, Nolan Hartwell, sat beside his mother with one arm stretched across the back of his chair.

And at the center of the photograph was Vivian Hartwell, smiling as if the judge at Bellhaven County Courthouse had awarded her a personal victory instead of merely ending my marriage.

Under the photograph, my friend had written:

They’re actually celebrating.