Vanessa slid a business card across the table.
“Our attorneys can handle the rest.”
Nathan stared at it.
Then his phone rang for a third time.
Claire again.
Vanessa glanced at the screen.
“Persistent woman. I’m starting to like her.”
I stood.
“We’re finished here.”
Nathan looked between us.
“That’s it?”
“Unless you’d like to explain your next engagement in advance.”
Then Vanessa and I walked out together.
For once, Nathan wasn’t the person deciding when the conversation ended.
Outside the restaurant, Vanessa stopped and let out a long breath.
“Did we really just do that?”
I smiled.
“Apparently.”
Her phone vibrated.
She checked the screen.
It was a message from Claire.
“Thank you for telling me. I had absolutely no idea.”
I looked at Vanessa.
“Do you think she’ll still marry him?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Would you?”
I laughed.
“Not even if the wedding came with a discount.”
We both burst into laughter.
It was an
unexpected moment.
Two women who had once been connected by betrayal were standing outside a restaurant, laughing together.
We weren’t suddenly best friends.
There was still pain between our histories.
But we had something important in common.
Two children who deserved better.
And a determination to stop making excuses for the same man.
When I returned home, Joel was sitting at the kitchen table.
He looked up as soon as I entered.
“Mom, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why did Mrs. Ivy have Dad’s watch?”
I sat beside him.
“I found out.”
He hesitated.
“Does Dad know about us?”
My throat tightened.
“Yes, sweetheart. He knows.”
Joel looked at his hands.
“Then why doesn’t he come?”
For years, I’d responded to that question with excuses.
Maybe Dad was busy.
Maybe he’d forgotten.
Maybe something important had happened.
I’d believed I was protecting Joel by making his father sound
better than he really was.
But those explanations had only left my son wondering whether he wasn’t important enough to remember.
So this time, I told him the truth.
“I don’t know why he hasn’t come, Joel.”
He looked up.
I gently took his hand.
“But I do know it isn’t because of anything you’ve done.”
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“Okay.”
Suddenly, his expression brightened.
“Mom! Close your eyes!”
I smiled.
