Chapter 40 - Andie
Chapter Forty - Andie
We pull into the lawyer’s office having not spoken a word the rest of our drive.
You’d think we were here for a divorce by the way we walk in like two estranged people.
Charlie takes a seat, being my silent support, while I let the receptionist know I’m here.
He promised to let me handle this on my own, simply being there in case he’s needed.
“Mrs. Harris?”
Hearing my name catches me off guard. I turn around to see a middle-aged man in a tan and brown suede suit standing there.
“Yes. Please call me Andie.” I extend my hand to shake as he continues his introduction.
“George Samuels. I’m helping Mr. Stevens finalize the closing of your husband’s will. Shall we go to my office?”
I follow him, leaving Charlie in the waiting room. I sit in the chair across from his desk and look around the office while he gets situated in his chair. His office is filled with books, and I think about how Cody would’ve loved sitting in these plush chairs and reading.
He was a big fan of books, never romance, just his self-help and non-fiction.
Making conversations a bit challenging. Like a sponge that would soak up knowledge, he devoured every word he could.
Often, during movies or shows, he would pause it to tell me facts relevant to what we were watching.
Sometimes even going into great detail and expanding past what the movie was talking about.
Fun fact: your show will be interrupted about thirty times to give you details on things you don’t really care about.
While looking around, I feel out of place and a bit unsure of what exactly he needs from me. I thought we finished everything. I thought we closed everything out. Scenarios play through my head, trying to figure out what we missed.
“Sorry I just got all the information from Mr. Stevens this morning. He found a few things with your husband’s insurance policy, and they have been trying to reach you to resolve them.
” Mr. Samuels shuffles some papers on his desk.
He’s not overly prepared but seems knowledgeable enough.
“Did you know that your husband had a policy through work as well as a separate life insurance policy?”
“I knew he had one through work, but no, he doesn’t have a separate life insurance policy that I know of.” His continual shuffling of his papers has me wondering if he actually has the right person.
“Wait a minute, I already received the pay out from his work, without any issues. Is there something I’m missing?”
“Yes ma’am. The work policy is straightforward—you were the sole beneficiary. But we discovered a separate policy.” Continuing to rummage through his papers, he pulls out a small stack, like he won the golden ticket.
“Turns out he took out a policy separate from his job to make sure you were provided for. Originally, you were the only beneficiary listed on this one too. But earlier this year it looks as if he made changes to it and with the new changes, you’re only entitled to half of it. The other half goes to his son.”
I’m sorry, his what now?
I stand up to take the papers from him and start reading through them. So many words and I’m not sure what they all mean. My brain is struggling to process what I just heard.
“I think you have the wrong individual. Cody didn’t have any kids.”
“It says here his son was born earlier this year.”
“That has to be a mistake. We don’t have any kids.” My voice sounds hollow, even to my own ears.
“I’m not sure what to say here, Mrs. Harris. I have all the documents verifying the child, and I’m sorry you were not aware, but the facts remain. Mr. Harris split his insurance policy between you and his son.”
I feel like my world begins to spin. The room starts to tilt as I grip the arms of my chair to steady myself. Cody never wanted kids. He told me he wanted to have me all to himself and wanted to enjoy growing old together.
Years of begging for a family and being declined.
Years I prayed for him to change his mind with no luck.
But now I’m finding out he has a child with someone else.
To top it off, he had this child while we were married.
Where do I go from here? What do I do with this information?
Everything I thought I knew about my marriage is now in a high-speed blender.
The tears I held back for the sake of Charlie threaten to escape, but I refuse to let myself be weakened by this. I try to sort my emotions, but as he said the facts remain. Cody cheated. He has a child. And he’s dead. None of these things will change. So now I need to figure out my next steps.
“Mrs. Harris . . .” the lawyer continues, seemingly unaware that he’s just detonated a bomb in my life.
“Andie. The name is Andie.” My words slice the air between us, but I remember this isn’t his fault so I shouldn’t be upset for him doing his job. “I’m sorry, please continue.”
“Andie, there’s more . . .” He hesitates, looking uncomfortable as he shifts in his seat, preparing his words.
I can’t fault the guy, I would be too if you just told the widow her husband was cheating in a fucked up roundabout way.
“We have a second will that you were named in, and it needs to be executed in a timely manner, so I need to review that with you.”
“Now I’m lost. A second will? Who else died?” I ask. My family is alive, and he’s saying a second will, which means it can’t be Cody’s.
“The second will belongs to a Brittany Lee.”
I hold my hand up to stop him right there. “I don’t know a Brittany Lee.”
“I’m starting to realize that. She, however, named you in her will. Ms. Lee named you as the guardian of her son Henry upon her death. The son she shared . . . Ohh—”
“Ohh, what? What is it?”
“The son she shared with Mr. Harris." He finishes.
And the hits just keep on coming. What is this—how much can Andie handle in one day?
Every emotion I have forms into pure, red-hot rage when I piece together everything that’s been thrown at me.
My hands start shaking, not from fear, but from the anger that’s radiating off of me.
The betrayal burns worse than anything I’ve ever experienced.
Seconds away from vomiting, I swallow down my hurt and push forward.
That tracks. I’m sure my mother will love this one for ammunition on how badly I fucked up my life.
At this point I’m almost delusional from all the shit that is raining down on me.
But I refuse to let my hurt show. Not here.
Not now. I sit through the meeting, going through all the papers, signing documents.
By the time everything is done, and I’ve learned all of Cody’s dark secrets he thought would never come out, I find myself frozen in the room.
The manilla envelope that retains a letter from his mistress and all the documents proving I didn’t know my husband at all laugh at me.
Her words call to me like a siren, the temptation to read what she wanted to tell me is too powerful. So instead of leaving right away I sit for a moment, staring at the letter in my hands, before ripping it open to face the unknown.
My hands tremor as I unfold it, and Brittany’s words hit me like another devastating blow.
Andie,
I hope you never receive this letter, but if you have then both Cody and I are no longer here.
First, I want to say I’m so sorry for everything.
I need you to know that what happened between Cody and me was never meant to hurt you.
It was simply the combination of a drunken night and a rough call he was struggling with.
We met at the bar by chance and well one thing led to another, but I’m not telling you this to excuse our actions.
I just want you to realize Cody loves you and never intentionally tried to hurt you.
Our relationship was focused only on Henry.
We never continued anything after that night.
I didn’t want to be the reason your world fell apart, so we agreed to keep Henry a secret till we could figure out the best way to tell you.
Obviously, that time never came. We agreed that if anything happened to us, we wanted a family to care for Henry.
You’re his family. Cody’s his family, so we chose you, knowing that you’d be an amazing mother to him.
This isn’t how we imagined this would happen, and I’m sorry if this places a burden on you. But I know in my heart, I couldn’t leave Henry in better hands.
Please don’t think badly of Cody. He made a mistake, but he loves you and Henry more than anything.
I hope you take Henry into your life and your heart. If you do, you’ll find out how truly special he is. Thank you for giving him a family he deserves.
With Gratitude,
Brittany
I fold the letter back up, the sting behind my eyes causing the water works to release.
My hands tremble not from grief, but from a confusing mix of rage and something I can’t quite name.
This woman—this stranger who had my husband’s child, the child I was denied for so long—writes to me like we’re friends. Like she’s doing me a favor.
The worst part is how reasonable she sounds. Her words of how sorry she is, the images of a drunken one nighter are supposed to fix all the betrayal? As if the months of lies afterwards were just an unfortunate oversight.
My eyes scan the words reading it again and again trying to make sense of my own reaction.
I should hate her, despise her, but she’s dead.
My anger should pour onto Cody, but he’s dead too.
All I have left is a letter full of apologies and excuses.
But her gentle assumptions—that I’d be an amazing mother that I’d welcome Henry with open arms—feel like a pressure I never asked for.
I sit there, staring into a void, trying to reconcile the husband I mourned with the man who lied to me for months.
Did he have any remorse? Or was this going to be a lingering secret for years to come?
I think about Cody, the man who gave another woman a child.
The same man who always told me he wasn’t ready for one.
Who led me to believe our marriage was something it wasn’t.
But regardless of my anger, as justified as it is, it won’t help Henry. And despite the lies and the secrets, and this nearly impossible situation—there’s a little boy who needs someone. A little boy who could be the family I always wanted, even if it came with the worst kind of revelation.
I’m not ready to forgive any of this, but maybe that will come with time.
Coming out of the meeting, I walk out to the lobby where Charlie is waiting for me. “Let’s go.” The command came out harsh, but I’m still angry with him.
“How did it go?” Oh, now he wants to talk. After he berated me, insulted me, and tore me down, now he wants to talk. Fantastic.
Read the room Charlie, probably not the time.
We made it halfway through the parking lot. Before I stop dead in my tracks turning to face him. “Did you know? Did you know he took out another policy?”
Dumbfounded, he stands there for a moment.
“I take that as a yes,” I say, my voice dropping dangerously low. “Did you know that he named me and his son on it?”
Charlie’s mouth opens like he’s about to talk but then thinks better of it. That tells me all I need to know.
“Fuck! You did, didn’t you? Oh my god you knew?
” We never had secrets, or so I thought.
This was a big one to keep from me. His face goes pale as he takes a step back like I’ve slapped him.
The guilt isn’t just written on his face.
No, it’s carved deep, creating lines of shame that tell me everything I wish wasn’t true.
“Sorry, Andie. I just thought he would’ve talked to you. He told me he was going to and—"
“I can’t do this right now!”
So, did everyone know about this but me? Was I wearing a sign that said please keep devastating secrets from me that I somehow missed?
“Just go Charlie. I’ll have someone else take me home.” He hesitates before giving me the space I asked for.
I pull out my phone with my hands shaking so badly I can barely text Abby.
Me
Can’t make lunch. Sorry. Will explain later.
I’m losing myself again, the emptiness overtaking. There’s only one person I want to talk to right now, so I steady myself to dial the number of the man I know will come for me.
“Daddy? I’m sorry to bother you, but can you come get me?” I ask, unable to hide the tremor in my voice.
“I’ll be right there, Peanut. Where are you?” Sometimes when your world feels like it’s crashing down, a girl just needs her dad.