“No, I didn’t do any of those things for her,” I grumble. “All I do is send her money for her kid that your wonderful husband left behind!”
“And screw her when she gets lonely?” Charlotte asks with a fake pout.
“It was one time! One night!” I correct myself again while simultaneously kicking myself in the ass for the stupid decision I made in the past that’s coming back to haunt me. Damn Adam and his mistress!
“Send me her address and tell her I’m coming to see her,” she says through clenched teeth. I know from her demeanor she’s not going to bend on this.
“Fine,” I agree with a sigh. “But just, please go easy on her, okay? Adam put her through hell too. She didn’t know he was married at first.”
“At first!” Charlotte shouts. “But she did know eventually, and that didn’t stop her from having an affair, did it?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Then I don’t owe her anything, do I?” she asks before she storms out.
Charlotte
* * *
Some of my anger fades when I pull up to the address Roman sent me and see how tiny and rundown the house is that my husband’s mistress and their son live in.
For the millionth time, I check my rearview, fully expecting to see a Harley drive up behind me because he’s too hard-headed to let me come alone. But there’s no bike and no other cars on the rural road on this bright Monday afternoon. I’m both relieved and a little disappointed.
Before I can second-guess my decision about coming, the red front door opens and then a raven-haired woman is filling it. She lifts her palm in an awkward wave that I return.
Guess it’s now or never.
Tossing my keys into my purse, I throw it over my shoulder and climb out of my car to walk up the cracked sidewalk.
“Hey, you must be Charlotte,” she says with a hint of an exotic accent when I approach her.
“And you must be Meredith, my dead husband’s girlfriend.”
“Go ahead and say it,” she replies with a sigh as she holds the door open for me to come inside the living room where toys are strewn everywhere. “Call me a bitch. I know you want to, and Aiden is playing across the street for a few minutes to give us some adult time to talk.”
“Well, where should we begin?” I ask when she moves a pile of laundry from the sofa for me to sit down, while she takes a seat on the floor with her legs crossed. “How about why you didn’t stay away from Adam after you found out he was married?”
“I did. We didn’t…fool around again after I found out. But by that time I was pregnant.”
“Oh, that’s just great.”
“He didn’t want to hurt you,” she says. “Adam felt so guilty, but he really cared about me too. We didn’t mean to fall in love. It just happened over time.”
“Yeah, right,” I mutter.
“I was working on the base as an interpreter. Adam and I met one day in the cafeteria. It took months of us talking and flirting before he ever touched me,” she says as if that’s supposed to make me feel better.
“Months? It only took a few months to ruin my marriage?”
“I’m sorry,” Meredith says. “Is that what you want to hear? I’m so very sorry, Charlotte. But I don’t regret being with him. I miss Adam like crazy, you know? And having Aiden, it’s like I got to keep a little piece of him here with me. I can apologize for what we did, but I would still do it all over again if I had the chance.”
“Maybe that’s what I’m having the hardest part with – he left something behind for you but not me. I always wanted kids too, Adam’s kids…”
“I’m sorry,” Meredith says again. “But if it’s any consolation, being a single mother is really fucking hard.”
“Good,” I say through the sniffles as I swipe my fingers under my damp eyes and we both chuckle.
“I don’t know what we would’ve done without Roman,” she goes on to say, making my chest ache at the mention of him, knowing he’s been with this woman too. Why does every man in my life have to sleep with her? I mean, yes, she’s beautiful, but jeez. “After Aiden came, I was out of the military and had to look for a job and find childcare. Roman didn’t owe us a dime, but still he’s been taking care of us, watching out for us since Adam can’t do it.”
“The man can’t seem to avoid helping damsels in distress,” I huff.
“Roman is such a great guy. One in a million,” Meredith gushes with a huge smile. “He was too much of a gentleman to turn me down the night I threw myself at him. It was just…it was Aiden’s first birthday and Adam couldn’t be here to celebrate with him, and I was lonely. I can’t bear to bring home men and have Aiden get attached before they up and leave us. I know Roman will never abandon us even though we only see him a few times a year. He’s got a big heart.”
“Yeah, he does,” I agree. There’s no denying how amazing Roman has been with helping Tessa and the other victims.
“I thought about contacting you those first few weeks after…but Roman said he could help with anything we needed. All he asked was that I not tell you because you would be devastated to learn the truth. Adam wouldn’t have wanted me to hurt you. But I’m so glad you know now.”
“So Adam really loved you?” I ask.
“I was in love with him. He loved me too I think, just not as much as he loved you. He had made his decision – he was going to pay child support but not see Aiden so that you wouldn’t ever have to know. It killed him to choose, and I hate he never got to meet Aiden or hold him…” she trails off.
“So your son was born after Adam died?”
“Adam was on his way to see us right after the delivery when the helicopter was shot down.”
Wow. Isn’t that a doozy to be hit with? Adam was going to see his mistress and their baby when he died. And I have no doubt that as soon as he laid eyes on his newborn son, he would’ve picked them over me. How could he not?
“It’s…it’s our fault you lost your husband, Charlotte,” Meredith tells me.
“No,” I reply. “It’s my husband’s fault I lost my husband. I’m starting to think he left me long before he died. I just didn’t know it.”
I don’t get any more time to process all of this new information, because the next second the front door flies open and then a whirlwind in the shape of a small boy comes in talking gibberish a mile a minute before he flings himself into his mother’s arms.
“Sorry,” a lady says as she jogs in out of breath. “He was ready to come home and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“It’s fine,” Meredith says as she pulls him down into her lap so that he’s finally calm and still and facing me, looking like a tiny version of Adam. “Mommy was just talking to her friend, Charlotte. Can you say hello?”
“Hi!” he replies before shoving his thumb into his mouth.
“Someone looks like he’s ready for a nap.”
“I’m not sleepy!” he challenges even as his eyelids sag.