That evening, Joel sat cutting cardboard at the kitchen table.
“Do you think Mrs. Ivy knows where Dad is?”
“Maybe.”
He hesitated.
“I don’t want him making you cry again.”
I kissed his forehead.
Neither did I.
But Ivy had moved here six months after Nathan left, asked questions about our lives, and somehow ended up with his watch.
I needed answers.
Ivy ignored my knocks the next morning.
On Sunday, a moving truck appeared outside her house.
“Leaving already?” I asked.
“Sarah, this isn’t a good time.”
“Then explain Nathan’s watch.”
“I bought it secondhand.”
“With my engraving?”
She looked away.
“Were you having an affair with him?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Then why are you running?”
“I’m not running!”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Her expression hardened.
“Your husband wasn’t worth the trouble he caused.”
She disappeared inside.
Whatever Ivy was hiding, she was willing to leave town rather than tell me.
That afternoon, I received a text from an unfamiliar number.
Unknown: My mother told me what happened. We should talk.
Me: Who is this?
Unknown: Vanessa. Nathan’s wife.
I read it three times.
Then I called.
“His what?”
A woman sighed.
“His wife. Well, technically, we’re separated.”
“Who are you?”
“Ivy’s daughter.”
I sat down.
I’d spent five years wondering if Nathan had left me for another woman. Now I knew the answer.
But I was about to discover that his affair was the least shocking part of the story.
Vanessa met me at a coffee shop Monday afternoon.
“I’m sorry about Mom,” she began.
“How long have you known about me?”
“Mom told me everything about what she’d been doing after she moved out. She figured you’d find me eventually and wanted to clear her conscience.”
I gripped my coffee.
“Okay, let’s start from the beginning. How did you two even meet?”
“We met at work,” she explained. “He said your marriage was falling apart.”
“And you believed him?”
“I wanted to.”
“Did you know about Joel?”
“Yes.”
“And you stayed?”
She lowered her eyes.
“Then I got pregnant. Nathan promised to choose.”
“And he chose to abandon us.”
“I’m sorry, Sarah.”
“So you married him?”
“After your divorce. We have a daughter, Lily. She’s four.”
Then I asked the question that mattered most.
“Why did your mother move onto my street?”
“Because Nathan asked her to.”
“What?”
“Mom only told me after she moved out.”
“You didn’t know?”
“I thought she just wanted a change of neighborhood. Turns out, Nathan had her spying on you for years.”
“And that’s why you contacted me?”
“That’s why I contacted you. You deserved to know.”
“Know what?”
“That Nathan had been using my mother to keep tabs on you. He never even visited her because he was afraid you’d recognize his car.”
“What was she reporting?”
“Joel’s school, his hobbies, whether he was happy. Whether you were dating or struggling financially.”
I remembered Ivy’s questions.
“Did Nathan pay her?”
“He helped with rent. He’d convinced Mom you wouldn’t let him see Joel.”
“And she believed him?”
“She wanted to.”
“Why would Nathan want updates about a son he abandoned?”
“He asked if Joel was happy. As long as Mom said yes, he could pretend he hadn’t hurt him.”
I’d spent five years making Nathan sound like a better father than he was.
And now I was going to make sure he paid for every year he’d spent pretending to be one.
“Why was your mother throwing away his belongings?”
Vanessa’s face changed.
“Because Nathan left me. Two months ago.”
“Let me guess. He wasn’t happy anymore?”
Vanessa stared.
“He said he needed space.”
“Of course he did.”
She wiped her eyes.
“He left bills behind, too.”
“Credit cards?”
“And a car loan. He promised he’d handle everything.”
I almost laughed. Nathan had made me the same promise five years ago.
“And Lily keeps asking when Daddy’s coming home,” Vanessa added.
That stopped me.
For the first time, I wasn’t looking at the woman Nathan had left me for.
I was looking at another mother trying to explain why her daughter’s father wasn’t coming home.
I knew the little face waiting for an answer.
“Where’s Nathan now?”
“Mom says he’s staying with someone. I found out last week he’s engaged.”
“Already? To whom?”
“Claire.”
Within minutes, I found his public engagement announcement.
Nathan smiled beside a woman wearing a sparkling ring.
Can’t wait to begin our forever.
I showed Vanessa.
“Does he buy these promises wholesale?”
She laughed, then started crying.
I handed her a napkin.
“Listen, Vanessa. We’re not friends.”
“I know.”
“But Lily’s asking the same questions Joel asked five years ago. Neither deserves this.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“That Nathan finally takes responsibility.”
I explained the unpaid support and debts.
“He told me you wouldn’t let him see Joel,” Vanessa admitted.
“He never asked. He had my number, my address, and apparently a neighborhood reporter.”
Vanessa covered her face.
“My mother actually became a spy for that idiot.”
“An unpaid one?”
“Oh, he paid her rent.”
“Wonderful. He couldn’t afford child support, but apparently had a surveillance budget.”
Vanessa laughed.
Then her expression changed.
“Sarah, what if we stopped letting him get away with this?”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
We talked for another hour.
By the time we finished, Vanessa was smiling.
“That’s going to ruin his Thursday.”
“Good. He’s ruined enough Tuesdays.”
Ivy called that evening.
“I never meant to hurt you, Sarah.”
“You reported on my son for five years.”
“Nathan wanted to know how Joel was doing.”
“Then he should’ve asked Joel.”
“I thought I was helping.”
“You helped Nathan avoid being a father.”
“Sarah…”
“Goodbye, Ivy.”
I hung up.
The next morning, Vanessa called.
“Everything’s ready.”
“Did he agree?”
“He thinks we’re meeting to discuss the divorce.”
“Perfect.”
“He even said he wants to settle things peacefully.”
I nearly dropped my coffee.
“Nathan? Peacefully?”
“Wait until he sees who else is coming.”
For five years, Nathan had controlled the story. On Thursday, Vanessa and I were finally going to write our own ending.
