Chapter 4: What Nathan Had Already Set in Motion
Carol appeared in the doorway with Lucas on her hip.
She was my older sister.
She'd driven forty minutes for this party.
She took one look at the card on the table, one look at Nathan's face, and set Lucas down in the hallway behind her.
"Lucas, stay there and eat your cake." She stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind her.
"What did I just miss?"
Nobody answered her.
She walked to the table, read the card, and set it back down without a word.
Then she looked at Nathan.
"You told her six-year-old son she wasn't coming home."
"Carol, this doesn't involve—"
"It involves my nephew." Her voice was very calm.
That was always the warning sign with Carol.
The calmer she got, the worse it was for whoever she was looking at.
"How long have you been telling him that?"
Nathan shifted.
"I said plans changed.
That's all I said."
"That's not what Lucas said." She turned to me.
"He told me in the car on the way here that Daddy said Mommy was going away for a long time and that a new lady was going to help take care of him." She paused.
"He said Daddy told him that two weeks ago."
The room was very still.
Two weeks ago I had been here.
In this house.
Making lunches, helping with homework, sleeping in my own bed.
There was no trip.
There had never been a trip.
And Nathan had already been telling our son I was leaving.
I looked at Nathan.
"Two weeks."
"He misunderstood—"
"He's six.
He repeats what he hears." Carol's voice didn't rise.
"What exactly did you tell him?"
Nathan's jaw moved.
Nothing came out.
Vanessa spoke from near the door.
Her voice was smaller than before.
"He told me the plan was to have you served with divorce papers while you were traveling for work next month.
He said you'd be away for ten days and that by the time you got back, the process would already be started and you'd have less ground to stand on."
The room shifted.
Nathan turned to her.
"Vanessa—"
"You told me she knew." Her voice cracked slightly.
"You told me she'd agreed to it.
That it was mutual.
That the only reason you hadn't told her yet was timing."
"That's not—"
"You told me she was the one who wanted out." She unclasped the necklace.
Her hands weren't steady.
She held it out toward me and I took it without looking away from Nathan.
"I didn't know about the house.
I didn't know about the will.
I didn't know any of that until tonight."
"You knew about the card," I said.
She nodded once.
"I knew about the card."
"And you knew he had a son."
"Yes."
"And you knew he was still married."
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
I closed my fingers around my mother's necklace.
Nathan tried once more.
"We can handle this privately.
Like adults.
There's no reason to—"
"I want you out of this house tonight." I said it clearly.
"Take what you need for a few days.
The rest we'll sort through a solicitor."
"You can't just—"
"The house is in my name." I looked at him steadily.
"You said you knew that."
He stood there for a moment.
The room waited.
Then he reached into his jacket pocket and set a folded document on the table next to the card.
"I had a solicitor look at that," he said.
"Eighteen months ago.
Because it's been our marital home for seven years.
That changes things."
He left the document on the table and walked out.
I didn't open it.
May you like
But Carol did.
Her face told me everything before she said a word.
