It's an awkward position to be in - keeping secrets from a man's wife.

It's even more unusual when the man in question was once your husband, and the wife in question was once the other woman in your relationship.

Actually though, I'm not really the one keeping secrets. I don't speak to her directly, so I'm not the one who tells the lies, obscures the truth, maintains the facade. Why he chooses to play that little game with her is beyond me.

The Ex called me today, as he had been "reminded" to let me know that I didn't need to pick up the kids this weekend.

Considering that the two of us had already discussed the fact that I was not going to be doing that anyway, I was puzzled at first. Then it became clearer: she's the one who has pushed him over these past few weeks to insist that we follow the standard possession order in the divorce decree. Where we had mutually agreed going into this divorce that alternating weekends would be the normal arrangement, suddenly she - and as a result, he - began pushing for the first, third, and fifth weekends of the month - all in an effort to give her more time away from my children.

But unfortunately for them both, that little effort backfired.

I don't like using my kids as a weapon. But neither do I like being manipulated. And the two of them overlooked one very simple fact about that standard possession order: it merely dictates that I have a right to possession at certain times; it does not order me to avail myself of that right.

So when The Ex pushed the issue of Mother's Day weekend upon me, I noted that I would have the kids for three weekends in a row, and countered by saying if I took them for Mother's Day, I'd skip that third weekend.

Ah, but that third weekend they had plans to marry. So I agreed to pick up the kids, and then told him I would skip the fifth Friday visit this month.

Well, it seems he never told her that, and had been pondering what story he could tell her to explain why I wasn't coming for them this weekend.

And then apparently, she (the keeper of my calendar with my children) got confused and gave him his "reminder".

So there we were on the phone - laughing at this fortunate turn of events that would keep us both out of the doghouse.

And as a last comment, he told me "So now you have plans - in case she figures out she's wrong about the dates."

I hung up, amazed at how the tables have turned, and it is the two of us keeping secrets from her, instead of them from me.

I am the other woman - minus the sex.

And the money.