AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But she wouldn’t let you see him?”
“Not at the beginning,” he says, shaking his head. “She argued – or her lawyers did – that I couldn’t have loved him if I didn’t believe he was mine. My lawyer argued the DNA test had nothing to do with my love for Nash and everything to do with Sabrina’s infidelity, and her refusal to answer straight questions.”
“She obviously backed down in the end.”
“She had no choice. She was just being vindictive.”
“What right did she have to be vindictive? You did nothing wrong.”
The waiter appears, carrying two dishes, which he puts in front of us, and we both take a breath, leaning back. We have to let go of each other’s hands, and I, for one, wish we didn’t. I feel like I can draw strength from Tanner, and maybe offer him some in return… but how can I do that when we’re so far apart?
We nod our thanks to the waiter, who leaves without a word, and Tanner glances over at my dinner.
“That looks nice,” he says.
“So does yours.”
He smiles, cutting into his duck, while I slice my chicken. The sauce has a real citrus kick, which is lovely, and once I’ve swallowed it down, I sip my wine, which tastes a little different after all that lemon.
“Did your wife move in with that contractor?” I ask, taking another bite of chicken.
“No,” Tanner says, with a wry smile. “Reuben wasn’t interested in a relationship, especially not one where there was a child involved.”
“So he disappeared?”
“Into thin air. She went to stay with a friend for a while, and then she found herself a house in Willmont Vale.”
“Wait a second. If she lives in Willmont Vale, why does Nash go to school here?”
“He’d already started at school when Sabrina and I split up. One of the few things she and I agreed on was that it wouldn’t be fair to move him when he was already going through so much upheaval.”
I nod my head. That makes sense. “And she was earning enough to buy a house, was she?”
“No. She rightly claimed half the money we’d accrued from selling the house we’d lived in together.”
“Was that enough?” I ask, sensing it wasn’t, just from the look on his face.
“No. I had to give her some more, out of my share. It was either that, or she was gonna take out a mortgage for the balance.”
“Why didn’t you let her do that?”
“Because she was insisting I had to make the payments… in full. At least this way I don’t have the overheads, and I know where I stand. Besides, providing for Nash has never been a problem. It’s Sabrina lying her way through every angle of the divorce that bothers me. She earns way more than I do, but insists I have to pay for everything.”
“Who divorced who?” I ask.
“I divorced her. But it took a lot longer than I thought, because despite her adultery, she challenged everything. She wanted everything, too… alimony, the shirt off my back, control over when I’d be allowed to see Nash. I wasn’t gonna give in to every little demand just to please her, so it went back and forth between the lawyers, and wasn’t finalized for over eighteen months. The court decided on access to Nash, which is every weekend, although the irony is that, having said I couldn’t see him at all at the beginning, Sabrina now asks me to have him during the week sometimes as well. I don’t mind that in the slightest. I’ll take him as often as I can.”
“You regret it, don’t you? Not being able to see him every day, I mean?”
“Of course. He’s my son. I should be there for him.”
“Is that why you drop him off and pick him up from school?”
He shakes his head, putting down his knife and fork. “No. I already explained that. I came this morning because Sabrina asked me to, and having found you again, I made an excuse to come this afternoon, so I could ask you to have dinner with me. What alternatives did I have? It seemed a little time consuming to walk around town, hoping to bump into you again.”
I giggle, leaning forward so I can gaze into his eyes. “Why did that happen, by the way? You said you weren’t paying attention, but was there a reason for that?”
“Yeah. I’d just taken Nash back to his mom’s and discovered Sabrina had moved her boyfriend in without telling me.”
