PART 2: Always Your Home
That evening, a moving truck pulled up outside her house.
“Leaving already?” I confronted her at the curb. “Explain Garrett’s watch.”
“I bought it secondhand!” she lied.
“With my engraving? Were you having an affair with him?”
“Absolutely not!” Her expression turned hard. “Your husband wasn’t worth the trouble he caused.”
She slipped back inside her house and refused to say another word.
That afternoon, a text arrived from a number I didn’t recognize.
Unknown: My mother told me what happened. We should talk.
Me: Who is this?
Unknown: Brenda. Garrett’s wife.
I read it three times, then called right away.
“His what?” I asked.
A woman sighed. “His wife. Well, technically we’re separated. I’m Evelyn’s daughter.”
Brenda met me at a coffee shop on Monday afternoon.
“How long have you known about me?” I asked, gripping my coffee cup.
“Mom told me everything after she moved out,” Brenda explained. “It turns out Garrett had her spying on you for years.”
“What?”
“Garrett had my mother keep tabs on you to make sure Liam was happy, so he could pretend he hadn’t hurt him. He even paid my mom’s rent.”
I thought back on all of Evelyn’s nosy questions over the years.
“Why was your mother throwing away his belongings?” I asked.
Brenda’s face shifted. “Because Garrett left me two months ago. He said he needed space. Now he’s engaged to someone else named Valerie.”
I found Garrett’s public engagement announcement online. Next to him stood a woman wearing a sparkling ring.
I looked up at Brenda. “Neither of our kids deserves this.”
“What are you suggesting?” Brenda asked.
“That Garrett finally takes responsibility for child support and his unpaid debts.”
Brenda smiled. “That’s going to ruin his Thursday.”
On Thursday, Brenda and I met Garrett at an upscale restaurant, under the pretense of discussing her divorce.
Garrett showed up ten minutes late. “Brenda, sweetheart, I’ve been thinking—”
Then he spotted me. “Samantha?”
“Hello, Garrett.”
He glanced from one of us to the other. “What’s going on?”
Brenda smiled. “Surprise. Your past and present have finally met.”
Garrett’s face flushed red. “Is this some kind of joke?”
I opened my folder. “Liam is eleven now. Five years without support, Garrett. My lawyer is reviewing what you owe.”
Brenda set another folder down beside mine. “And I’ve started the process of securing support for our four-year-old daughter, Sienna.”
Garrett stared at the legal papers, going pale. “You’re both suing me?”
“We’re pursuing what our children are entitled to,” I said calmly.
His phone buzzed again and again on the table.
“Valerie’s calling,” Brenda remarked smoothly. “Well, don’t keep your fiancée waiting.”
Panicked and humiliated, Garrett snatched his jacket and dashed out of the restaurant, leaving his past and present behind.
When I got home that evening, Liam was waiting for me.
“Mom, why did Mrs. Evelyn have Dad’s watch?”
“I found out, sweetheart.”
“Does Dad know about us?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t he come?”
Before, I would have made up an excuse. Not anymore.
