The sentence stayed between us.<\/p>\n
Part of me wanted you to find me before I did.<\/p>\n
I stared at Jeremy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted me to stop you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked ashamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout telling me what you were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo even your imagined rescue required me to somehow discover the truth for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not trying to be fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas remained silent behind his desk.<\/p>\n
He understood this was no longer primarily legal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened that night?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked at his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was at David\u2019s place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had driven me back from Nashville.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom seeing Lacey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was getting worse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the marriage was scheduled the next morning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe filing appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cContinue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI started drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBourbon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough that David took my keys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he suggest drinking?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I couldn't do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe marriage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat realization arrived exactly one night before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I had known it was wrong the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had gone home earlier that day.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came home?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was packing for Chattanooga.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were in the bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
A memory surfaced.<\/p>\n
Jeremy had stood in the doorway while I folded clothes into a small overnight bag.<\/p>\n
He had seemed strange.<\/p>\n
I asked whether work was bothering him.<\/p>\n
He said no.<\/p>\n
Then he held me for longer than usual.<\/p>\n
I had laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this for?\u201d<\/p>\n
He had said, \u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes filled now.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were going to tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou got the call about Aunt Carol.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
Karen shouting through the phone.<\/p>\n
A possible broken hip.<\/p>\n
Uncertainty about surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was distracted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou started crying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was worried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI looked at you and thought I couldn't add another disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let me drive away while you knew you were planning to marry someone else the next morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you kiss me goodbye?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
Thomas looked toward me.<\/p>\n
I paced to the window.<\/p>\n
That goodbye existed differently now.<\/p>\n
I remembered Jeremy touching my cheek.<\/p>\n
Telling me to be careful.<\/p>\n
Telling me to call when Karen and I reached Chattanooga.<\/p>\n
I had believed it was ordinary affection.<\/p>\n
He had known what waited the next day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you went to David.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd drank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I was going home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo wait for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to stay home until you came back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the filing was Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you planned to miss it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell Lacey?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell David?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat if I failed to show, Lacey might lose the treatment window.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that true?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn't my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas made a note.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can verify the treatment timeline later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told David I didn't care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I couldn't destroy my marriage for paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
I absorbed the words.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you do it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked physically ill.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause David said if I went home drunk, you would know something was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I needed to sober up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took my keys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd kept you there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ask for them back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeremy, were you too drunk to drive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he was right not to give you the keys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ask him to call me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart sank.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
I barely heard him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I would hate myself the next morning if I told you while drunk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is exactly the kind of argument you would accept.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you have your phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI called you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no missed call from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I hung up before it rang long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mind went backward.<\/p>\n
Chattanooga.<\/p>\n
Hotel room.<\/p>\n
Karen asleep in the other bed.<\/p>\n
My phone lighting once around midnight.<\/p>\n
I had glanced over.<\/p>\n
No call.<\/p>\n
Only the screen fading.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you call again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stopped you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid took my phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anger moved through me slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took your phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ask for it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you fight him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was drunk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause part of me was relieved.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
I sat again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted someone to stop you from confessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd someone to stop you from proceeding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted to avoid choosing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted the decision to happen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood that more than I wanted to.<\/p>\n
Not approve.<\/p>\n
Understand.<\/p>\n
Jeremy had spent years arranging his life so difficult outcomes could be blamed on circumstance.<\/p>\n
Money hidden because family pressure might force him to give it.<\/p>\n
Separation papers never filed because my mother\u2019s illness interrupted him.<\/p>\n
A second marriage completed because treatment urgency forced his hand.<\/p>\n
The lie continued because exposure would hurt Lacey.<\/p>\n
Choice became something other people caused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still went to the courthouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid drove me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say that morning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Lacey\u2019s authorization depended on us finishing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you sober?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a terrible hangover.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ask to see the documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI started to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said they were the same ones Thomas had prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward Thomas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey weren't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the outer pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the replacement statement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you sign anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe marriage application.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you read that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it say about your marital status?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrevious marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot current?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid that bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe clerk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBonnie?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Different intake clerk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat the attached statement addressed the discrepancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n
He nodded grimly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the altered statement supplied the false explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy stared at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Lacey\u2019s signed statement admitted Jill and I were still legally married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou signed anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you chose not to read the attachment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Again, both things could be true.<\/p>\n
He had been deceived about the contents.<\/p>\n
He had also chosen not to verify them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid drove us to Vanderbilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLacey and me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you tell her you had tried to back out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid David?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you get your phone back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the infusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLate afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you call me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy then I thought it was too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean you were afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the email again.<\/p>\n
Once the filing is done, he can\u2019t undo this without exposing all of us.<\/p>\n
They had predicted him perfectly.<\/p>\n
Not physically forced.<\/p>\n
Psychologically cornered.<\/p>\n
They knew he would see completed wrongdoing as something that had to be maintained rather than confessed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid David know you would react that way?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had known me since we were teenagers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Lacey?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
A thought came.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas David the one who introduced you to Lacey because he liked her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever date her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry to?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe liked everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he like Lacey?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy thought longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she like him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he jealous of you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does that matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he spent three years making decisions about Jeremy and Lacey\u2019s relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think this was personal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everyone in this story has claimed medical necessity when personal motives were underneath.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to talk to David.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can arrange for him to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
I checked the time.<\/p>\n
It was evening now.<\/p>\n
Lacey\u2019s death had occurred only hours earlier.<\/p>\n
I felt as if days had passed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked surprised.<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cI\u2019m done tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy and I left separately.<\/p>\n
At home, the banker\u2019s box still covered the kitchen table.<\/p>\n
Jeremy stopped in the doorway.<\/p>\n
For a second, neither of us knew where to go.<\/p>\n
Our bedroom belonged to us historically.<\/p>\n
The guest room belonged to him currently.<\/p>\n
The kitchen had become an interrogation room.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m making tea,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
I filled the kettle.<\/p>\n
Jeremy sat.<\/p>\n
The domestic ordinariness felt almost obscene.<\/p>\n
After several minutes he said, \u201cI loved her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't mean that as an argument.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why say it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she died and I don't know where I\u2019m allowed to put that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The question was painfully human.<\/p>\n
I set a mug in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are allowed to grieve.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is still your house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI meant with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know what I can hold for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I am not going to tell you that your grief is fake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
We drank tea in silence.<\/p>\n
After a while he asked, \u201cAre you going to leave me?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the dark window.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have asked the question everyone lied to avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not ask again tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won't.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood to go upstairs.<\/p>\n
Jeremy called my name.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remembered something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night before the filing.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid said something when he took my phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy frowned, trying to reconstruct it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018You\u2019ll thank me when this is over.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could mean anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also said, \u2018At least this way one of us finally does right by her.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought he meant you and Mark?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I think he meant himself and me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The possibility settled heavily.<\/p>\n
David had introduced Jeremy and Lacey.<\/p>\n
Known her before Jeremy.<\/p>\n
Stayed near both of them for decades.<\/p>\n
Read private letters.<\/p>\n
Carried secret documents.<\/p>\n
Controlled the timing of the filing.<\/p>\n
Opened locked cabinets.<\/p>\n
Protected Lacey\u2019s secrets even from the man she married.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid David ever tell Lacey he loved her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy whispered, \u201cNot that I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone vibrated on the table.<\/p>\n
A message.<\/p>\n
From Karen.<\/p>\n
Mark just told me something about David. Call me.<\/p>\n
I called.<\/p>\n
Karen answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMark says David was in love with Lacey in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cDid Lacey know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMark says she told him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2004.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what did she say about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen inhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat David was the safest person she knew because he never asked her for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Jeremy.<\/p>\n
His face had changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo more nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid asked me once not to date her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe week before our first date.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said she had enough problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know he loved her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you date her anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen remained on the line.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cWhat does Mark think that has to do with the marriage filing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why tell you now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause David emailed him tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen read the message.<\/p>\n
I kept Jeremy from ruining Lacey\u2019s last chance once. I will not let Jill turn everything into a crime now.<\/p>\n
Jeremy stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sent that tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does \u2018last chance\u2019 mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither did I.<\/p>\n
But for the first time, I began to wonder whether David had ever seen the second marriage as Jeremy\u2019s decision at all.<\/p>\n
Maybe in his mind, Jeremy had merely been the instrument through which Lacey finally received something she had lost.<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
Jeremy paced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to call him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is angry and defensive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow, at Thomas\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may not come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we stop chasing him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone in this story has been rewarded for withholding truth because the rest of us chase them for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I picked up my mug.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf David wants to explain himself, he knows where Thomas is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if he doesn't?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen his emails explain plenty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy sat again.<\/p>\n
For once, he did not argue.<\/p>\n
At 8:14 the next morning, Thomas called.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid is here.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat upright.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlready?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was waiting when I arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo give you page four.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence stayed between us. Part of me wanted you to find me before I did. I stared at Jeremy. \u201cYou wanted me to stop you?\u201d He looked ashamed. \u201cYes.\u201d … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9730"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9773,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9730\/revisions\/9773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}