Chapter 11 #2
Half an hour later, Neil and Dani walked out together. She got in the truck, and we drove a few blocks in silence.
“Thank you,” she said in a somber voice. “He’s never… He hasn’t… I’m not some battered girlfriend if that’s what you think.”
“I don’t think that. I’m glad I was there to keep him from escalating, though. Just in case.”
We needed a new topic.
“Any news from your lawyer?”
Her posture straightened.
“Yes.” Her voice brimmed with excitement. “Shayla left a message earlier. Before this, I thought identity theft was when strangers open credit cards in your name or steal your information, but it also includes roommates, partners, and relatives. I had no idea.”
Her arms wrapped around her waist. She was so damn defeated. Dani wasn’t some helpless waif, but the defender in me roared up anyway.
“What’s that mean for you?”
“She thinks it’ll be resolved in a week or two.
I might have to pay a few small bills I found on my credit report, but I won’t be on the hook for everything he put in my name without my knowledge.
I had to put a freeze on my credit. Today Shayla started the process to press charges for identity theft. ”
Her words hung in the air for a moment as I struggled to find a response.
“God, I can’t believe it’s come to this,” she lamented.
“Do you want to call it off?” I asked in a neutral voice.
She rubbed her arms as if to ward off a chill.
“No,” she whispered.
When she spoke again, her voice was more forceful.
“No. He stole from me, lied to me, opened credit cards in my name without my knowledge, didn’t pay bills I gave him money to pay. I can’t imagine how he thought I wouldn’t find out when the power and Internet got cut off.”
“How much longer do you have to pretend?”
“That’s the best part.” The relief in her voice was palpable.
“Since Shayla initiated the fraud proceedings and has already presented the evidence I collected, and my credit’s frozen so he can’t do more damage, I’m free to break up with him.
It’d be better to wait until I submit the small claims court paperwork so he doesn’t try to weasel his way out of it, but it’s not necessary. ”
She stared out the window.
“Maybe I should have taken advantage of his behavior tonight so he wouldn’t be suspicious, but he was already so volatile.”
“How do you feel?”
I wasn’t sure what I expected, but Dani always surprised me. Despite everything, she took the time to think it through. We turned onto our street, and I silently railed that our night would be cut short.
“Relief that I’m not in it alone. Sadness and betrayal.
Shock. Gratitude I found out before it got worse.
Anger. A little bit of fear. Stressed that I have to navigate and pay for this.
Tentative hope that once I’m on the other side of this mess, I’ll be able to breathe easier.
Worry I’ll be living with my parents forever. ”
We pulled into my driveway, and I turned to face her.
“What do you mean? Your parents are great.”
“They are, and I’m grateful. But nobody wants to move back home repeatedly because they can’t cut it on their own.”
“That’s not what happened. But if it were, they’re thrilled to have you there.”
“I know.”
She chewed on her lip, and I had to look away.
“I’m a little ashamed to say this because it makes me sound like an asshole, but I’m jealous,” she admitted.
“Of what?”
She stared into the darkness.
“My whole life, I grew up under their love. Not only are they great parents and the best people, they’re so in love. They’re each other’s best friend, but they’re also still cute and adorable about each other.”
Her little laugh was a mixture of humor and sadness.
“I always assumed I’d find that, too. Don’t most people want to find their person?
” She picked at a thread on her pants. “I thought it would have happened by now, but here I am, thirty-three and starting over again. Kids were never an interest of mine until recently, but now I can’t stop thinking about it. ”
I strained to hear her over the heavy thump of my heart.
“Maybe it’s that mythical biological clock ticking, but I want more than this.
I want to be a mom, I want to be in a happy, committed relationship, and I want to raise my kids here in Sierra Rose Ridge.
But time is running out. Beau stole not only my financial security but my chance at a future as a mom. ”
Words lodged in my throat, but I swallowed them down. She wouldn’t consider me, which I’ve known for decades. I was just out of practice reminding myself. That’s why it hurt.
After I cleared my throat, I reassured her.
“It’s not too late. There’s plenty of time to find someone and fall in love. And if that doesn’t happen as quickly as you want, there are other options.”
Her nose crinkled up in that annoyingly cute way I remembered. Damn it. I had to stop finding her cute.
“Egg baster?”
Laughter burst out of me, defusing some of the tension.
“I don’t think that’s how sperm donors work, but that’s only one option.”
“I’m not discounting it. Like everybody, I wanted the dream of a happy marriage and happy family, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.”
Heart aching, we exited my truck. While I didn’t want this conversation to end, I also needed it to. It hurt so fucking much that the woman who claimed my heart more than twenty years ago wanted the same things I did, but not with me.
But I’d already gone a decade without her in my life at all, which reinforced that I’d rather be friends than a memory.
“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for everything you’d done for me this week.”
“Nothing I wouldn’t do for any friend.”
I wasn’t excited about going home alone to my empty house, but I had plenty of projects to keep me busy. If I kept up this pace, I’d be able to fill my house with furniture in a week or two. That’d be a good time to get a dog. Maybe then this emptiness would fade.