The elevator opened on the seventh floor.<\/p>\n
I almost turned around.<\/p>\n
The hallway was quiet in a way ordinary hospital corridors aren't. There were no loud conversations, no children running, no televisions blaring from waiting rooms. Even the footsteps seemed softer.<\/p>\n
A nurse pointed toward the last room.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven fourteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thanked her.<\/p>\n
Then I walked.<\/p>\n
For twenty-two years, I had imagined meeting Lacey.<\/p>\n
Sometimes I imagined myself angry.<\/p>\n
Sometimes triumphant.<\/p>\n
Sometimes ashamed.<\/p>\n
I had pictured a younger woman with the same sharp blue eyes I remembered from 2004.<\/p>\n
I had never imagined her waiting behind a hospital door.<\/p>\n
The room was half open.<\/p>\n
A television murmured from somewhere inside.<\/p>\n
Then I heard her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that her?\u201d<\/p>\n
The nurse looked at me.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
She opened the door.<\/p>\n
Lacey turned her head.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
She was smaller than I remembered.<\/p>\n
The woman from the old photographs had been slim and bright-eyed. The person in that bed looked fragile enough that I was afraid a loud voice might hurt her.<\/p>\n
A scarf covered her head.<\/p>\n
An IV ran from her arm.<\/p>\n
Machines beside the bed gave off small electronic sounds.<\/p>\n
But her eyes were unchanged.<\/p>\n
Blue.<\/p>\n
Direct.<\/p>\n
Familiar.<\/p>\n
She smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nurse left us alone.<\/p>\n
Lacey gestured toward the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
She studied me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wondered what you'd look like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wondered about you too.\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose neither of us got what we imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes dropped to my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're still wearing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at my wedding ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo are you.\u201d<\/p>\n
She glanced at the thin gold band on her finger.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeremy bought this one at Walmart.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't know why that detail hurt.<\/p>\n
Maybe because it sounded ordinary.<\/p>\n
A cheap ring bought by a man I loved for a woman I had spent twenty-two years thinking about as an enemy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted something simple,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you love him?\u201d<\/p>\n
She answered without hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word landed heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never stopped.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward the window.<\/p>\n
Nashville continued outside.<\/p>\n
Cars moved through intersections. People crossed streets. Someone carried a paper cup across the hospital courtyard.<\/p>\n
Life continued with astonishing indifference.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he love you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved the person I used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn't an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She took a slow breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the only honest one.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked back at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why marry him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her fingers touched the blanket.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I became sick, I was afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf dying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf being alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents were gone. My brother lived in Arizona. My friends had families and jobs. When treatment became serious, I realized there might not be anyone sitting beside me when things got bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Jeremy appeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou met here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hadn't seen him before that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
She paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't even know he was still married.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did he tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave me a tired smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cI finally asked him why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you still wanted him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no attempt to make the answer prettier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat he couldn't leave me alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked down at my hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then you asked him to marry you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew he was already married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew what that meant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
The admission surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at the ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked him for one thing. I wanted to die knowing I had once been his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn't answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know about me from the beginning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you were his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gave a bitter laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's a fairly important detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also told me he loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said you were his family.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word caught me off guard.<\/p>\n
Lacey continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me you had been beside him for twenty years. He knew you understood his habits. His scars. His terrible jokes. He said he was grateful for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
I didn't want to cry in front of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did he marry you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I asked him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn't make it right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her answer came immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room fell quiet.<\/p>\n
I asked the question I had carried for three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you sleep with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hadn't expected that.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe slept in a chair beside my bed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
All those Tuesday nights.<\/p>\n
All those images my mind had invented.<\/p>\n
The truth was different.<\/p>\n
But not necessarily easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was cheating on me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened my eyes.<\/p>\n
She spoke carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot physically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he gave me a part of himself that belonged in your marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the sentence I couldn't argue with.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't even know if I mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached for the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cJill?\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeremy isn't why I asked you to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
She reached beneath her pillow and removed a small envelope.<\/p>\n
My name was written across it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat's that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy lawyer told me to give it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat's inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething Jeremy doesn't know about.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell me now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you'll ask questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want you to ask them.\u201d<\/p>\n
She held the envelope out.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not here.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took it.<\/p>\n
It was heavier than I expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause twenty-two years ago, I hated you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed you took Jeremy from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had every reason to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent years believing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She touched the envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I got sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice weakened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Jeremy told me something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me what really happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat really happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I left for Nashville because I was angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what everyone believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also said I wasn't pushed away by you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI left on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pregnant when I left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJeremy knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't he tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the baby died.\u201d<\/p>\n
I covered my mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter I reached Nashville, I miscarried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow far along?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEight weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
She wiped a tear from her cheek.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't tell Jeremy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave a sad smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cI blamed him. I blamed you. I blamed myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the floor.<\/p>\n
For twenty-two years, I had believed I understood the beginning of my marriage.<\/p>\n
I had been wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how did you find out he knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
She paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned years later from his mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered Evelyn immediately.<\/p>\n
Jeremy's mother had been kind to me from the beginning. She had never treated me as though I had stolen something.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew about the pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did she tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Jeremy blamed himself for losing the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn't breathe properly.<\/p>\n
There were parts of my husband's life I had never touched.<\/p>\n
Rooms inside him I hadn't known existed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't he tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-two years is a long time to be ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
A knock sounded at the door.<\/p>\n
We both turned.<\/p>\n
Jeremy stood there.<\/p>\n
His face was pale.<\/p>\n
His eyes were red.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
Then Lacey.<\/p>\n
Then the envelope in my hand.<\/p>\n
His expression collapsed.<\/p>\n
\u201cJill.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew she had been pregnant?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew she had cancer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew she wanted to marry you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you decided I didn't deserve to know?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you deserved to keep your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou call three years of lying keeping my life?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My voice shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know what it feels like to discover that your husband has another marriage because you went to the courthouse to get a copy of your own.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never stopped being your husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't get to decide that alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
We both looked at her.<\/p>\n
She was crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't have enough time for the two of you to spend all of it fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy went to her bedside.<\/p>\n
He took her hand.<\/p>\n
I watched him.<\/p>\n
There was tenderness in the gesture.<\/p>\n
Real tenderness.<\/p>\n
And I finally understood something I had resisted since the courthouse.<\/p>\n
He loved her.<\/p>\n
Maybe not in the way I had feared.<\/p>\n
Maybe not instead of me.<\/p>\n
But he loved her.<\/p>\n
And she loved him.<\/p>\n
That didn't excuse the secret.<\/p>\n
It only made the truth harder to fit into the simple shape I had wanted.<\/p>\n
I held up the envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy looked at it.<\/p>\n
His face went white.<\/p>\n
\u201cLacey.\u201d<\/p>\n
She met his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you I would.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou promised.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI promised I'd wait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes moved to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't wait anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeremy stepped toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease don't open that here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeremy.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt's the reason I married her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already know why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lacey looked at me.<\/p>\n
Then nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My fingers trembled as I tore the envelope.<\/p>\n
Inside was a single folded document.<\/p>\n
I unfolded it.<\/p>\n
The first words were printed in formal black type.<\/p>\n
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF LACEY MARIE TOLLEY.<\/p>\n
I looked at Lacey.<\/p>\n
Then at Jeremy.<\/p>\n
Neither spoke.<\/p>\n
I lowered my eyes to the page.<\/p>\n
And began to read.<\/p>\n
The elevator opened on the seventh floor. I almost turned around. The hallway was quiet in a way ordinary hospital corridors aren't. There were no loud conversations, no children running, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-readmore"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3374"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3389,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3374\/revisions\/3389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}