Two weeks earlier, on the day it all started

Needless to say it wasn't the best day in Jack's life, but for related reasons it certainly wasn't the worst one either.

Barely two weeks earlier he'd found a note on his bed when he got home from work one evening, which told him that his wife had decided to leave him for somebody else, after slightly more than twenty years together. At first he thought it was just some sick kind of joke, as he'd never even considered the idea before, but soon found out the truth when he received a call from his old accountant, who simply informed him that the house and everything in it was his to keep, while Shirley had left with most of their savings.

If this was even legal to do wasn't much of Jack's concern, as he figured the deal could have been a whole lot worse, and he was more than happy when it seemed like he wouldn't have to meet his treacherous wife any time soon again. What it really meant however, was that he suddenly had to take care of their house and their three kids, which in a way was bad enough in itself.

Luckily the girls were all grown up by now, and at least in theory they should be fully capable of looking after themselves. In practice, however, he perceived them as even more fickle and by far less responsible than the mother they resembled.

Things were just getting worse though, since he'd been seriously pissed when he arrived at work the next morning, and quickly found himself even more so when some of his co-workers had the guts to laugh at his miserable situation. As it turned out it seemed like half the town were already well aware of his wife's debauchery, and after a heated argument Jack was sent back home before his workday had even begun.

It wasn't quite like he'd actually been fired on the spot, but for all he cared he'd never want to set his foot in that place ever again.

Being suddenly unemployed after almost twenty long years of hard work had far more implications than just putting a lot of stress on his own economy however, as it also put him in a situation he'd never really been through his entire life. For starters he soon realized that he barely even knew how to deal with everyday life at home, as his wife had been doing just about everything herself, including raising their children in his near constant absence.

All of this meant that he was now in charge of a household which he barely even knew anything about, and caring for three kids he wasn't even sure how to tell the news that he was now unemployed. For better or worse they all seemed fairly unaffected by their mother's disappearance, though Jack didn't know if he should be relieved or even further annoyed by this proof of their blatant ignorance...