The Trust

Chapter 21: Run

He nodded. "What about the money?"

"What money?" I shrugged into my jacket and threw my phone and a credit card in my zipped pocket.

"Rob's money. I want my half, fair and square."

I froze, not believing what I was hearing. Was he for real? First, no one could find Rob and none of us knew what the hell was going on. Last we heard he was in New York and in the hospital with a mystery illness, so the state of our windfall was in limbo. Second, over nearly 20 years, Clive robbed me of my patience, my youth, my beauty, my happiness, my heart, and soul. He wasn't getting anything else from me.

I walked up to him until our faces were inches apart. He was taller than me, but not by much. Each word out of my mouth dripped with venom.

"That money is a fantasy. It's not going to happen, get it through your thick skull. And if by some miracle Rob's gift magically appears after all this time, it's meant for me and Audrey. You won't see one dime."

His face went red, and he opened his mouth to argue, but I held up my hand. "I'm not fighting with you over an imaginary pay-out. Just get the rest of your shit and leave."

We glared at each other until a sharp blast of a car horn broke the tension. I looked out the window and Audrey leaned on the horn again.

"Your daughter's going to miss her plane," I said. He strode past me out the door.

I watched the car leave and said a silent prayer to Saint Christopher, patron saint of travellers, for Audrey's protection. I was no longer a practicing Catholic, but my faith was strong, and I still prayed to the saints now and then. I had Father Jake bless a small medallion that I tucked into Audrey's suitcase to keep her safe. The memory of her face, all flushed with joy, made me feel better about the ugly exchanges with Clive.

I pause on my run, slowing to a walk and checking my heartbeat on my new FitBit. Definitely in the fat-burning zone, not that I cared too much about losing weight. Since I started running, I felt more clear-headed and in control. The decision to leave Clive was the best one I'd had in a long time; I knew it in my soul.

Shading my eyes, I squint into the horizon wondering what part of the ocean Audrey and her friends were flying over.

I was in a hell of a lot of money trouble, but I had to admit — the past few weeks of spending had been the most fun I'd had in a long time. Now it was time to face the reckoning.

A shout in my direction makes me turn, and I see another jogger coming towards me, waving. It's a woman, and at first I can't make out her face. Then I recognize the dimpled smile — it's Steph, the office manager of the Geology department at Clive's university. She and I would often find each other hovering near the punchbowl at stuffy university events. She was a bit of a gossip but good-hearted and I liked her.

She slows down and we make small talk for a few moments, exchanging pleasantries and news about people we know at the university.

"So, how are you really," she says after a few moments, touching my arm. Her forehead is creased with concern; the look on her face alarms me.

"What do you mean?"

"Since the split," she says, searching my eyes. Her hand is still on my arm and now she looks even more worried.

"What split?" I'm confused. Was she listening at the door of my house?

"You mean you haven't split up with Clive after what happened?" Now it's her turn to look confused and a new fear spreads in my gut, thick, like tangled vine.

"What happened?"

She steps back and her hand flies to her open mouth. "Oh my God. You don't know."

I stifle the urge to shake her until she spills her guts. "Just tell me, Steph." What fresh hell is this?

She roots around in her pocket and brings out her phone. After a few clicks and swipes, she puts it under my nose.

I squint at it. A girl who looks to be in her early 20s is obviously pregnant, flushed with happiness. Balloons and streamers are all around her.

"It's a girl at a baby shower. What is she, 20?"

"She's 23," she says, swiping until she finds what she's looking for. "Darcey, I'm so sorry." She holds the phone up to me and in a split second, I know what I'm going to see before I see it.

Clive is standing next to the girl, looking down on her with pride. His arm is around her waist. The shower is not just for her. It's for them.

The reality slams into my head like a brick. All those networking trips; all those nights away at this conference or that one. I thought the gambling was bad, but nothing prepared me for this.

I am so stupid.

"She was his student?"

Steph nods.

"So that's why he was fired."

She shakes her head. "Clive wasn't fired. He was put on leave. With pay."

The hits just kept on coming.

"I have to sit down," I say. The sky and the ocean tilt and I'm scared my knees might buckle from underneath me.

All this time, he was getting paid. Months and months of me scraping by, worrying about the mortgage, having enough food in the house for Audrey, going without lunch sometimes to make sure they both had enough. And he was funneling money to her, to pay for their new love nest.

"Why?" I look up at Steph. It's the only thing I can think of to say. What I really want to say is why do bad men do the things that they do?

She shakes her head. "Because he's a man, honey. A sleazy, lying, no good bastard of a man."

I sat with the news for a few moments until the shock began to wear off. "Who knows about this?"

"Everyone at the university. It's the only way he could keep his job, I guess. Rather than an affair with a student, it's more respectable if you're getting married and starting a family."

"Married? He's already married — to me!"

"He told everyone you divorced him when you heard the news. And yes — they're engaged. They have an apartment in the city — that's what the party was, a baby shower-housewarming thing. They're even registered at Home Excellence in the city!"

It was unbelievable. I search my feelings and felt no pain, just anger and regret. "You never thought to reach out to me?"

She looks ashamed. "He said you wanted to cut all ties with everyone at the university. It seemed logical to me." She drops her gaze. "We believed him, Darcey. I'm sorry, truly I am. I'll say this — the man is an exceptional liar."

Steph sits next to me on the bench and holds my hand and I resist the urge to yank it back. She talks to me for a while, but her voice fades away. How long have I been fooling myself that Clive was just misunderstood and troubled, instead of what he really was which was a complete piece of shit. I kept seeing the image of him and that wisp of a girl, pregnant with his kid. His shiny, new life. What was he planning to do, move them in with us? Did he think I'd never find out? And what were Audrey and I to him? Garbage to be discarded when he felt the time was right?

He couldn't even wait to get divorced before trading us in for a new family. Why didn't he just tell me? I knew our marriage was on the rocks for years; why the big deception? Why keep two relationships, two homes going at the same time—

The money.

Another shock of realization. Maybe he was getting ready to leave when all this money business started months ago. There's no way he'd skip out on me if he thought I was coming into a fortune.

I realized Steph was still prattling on while my head spun.

"Thanks, Steph. I appreciate your honesty. I have some things to think about. I'm sorry, I must go." I patted her hand and stood up.

She calls after me, offering me a ride home, but I ignore her. There's only one place I want to go and one person I need to talk to.

I head left and start to run in the direction of the church.