He turned toward me in panic.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing,” I replied. “Not yet.”
Linda introduced us.
“Debbie, this is Rachel.”
Rachel looked at my husband with undisguised disgust.
“You told me you’d been divorced for two years!”
I stared at Gary.
“He moved out four months ago. We’re still married.”
Rachel shook her head.
“That’s not what he told me.”
Then she revealed something even more astonishing.
“And your name isn’t James!”
I turned toward him.
“James?”
Gary rubbed his forehead.
“It’s my middle name.”
Rachel let out a bitter laugh.
“He told me his ex-wife was controlling and refused to let him see his teenage son.”
“Our son is twenty-four,” I answered. “He moved out three years ago.”
Rachel’s eyes widened.
“He told me your son was seventeen!”
Gary looked increasingly desperate.
“You don’t understand what our marriage was like!”
But Rachel wasn’t finished.
“He also told me you abandoned his sick mother.”
My stomach tightened.
“I drove his mother to chemotherapy every Thursday for six months.”
Rachel stared at him.
“So you made your wife sound cruel just to make yourself look like a victim?”
Gary said nothing.
Then I asked Rachel how long they’d been together.
She hesitated.
“Since March. He told me he loved me on March eighth.”
My breath caught.
March eighth.
Our wedding anniversary.
Gary had told me he was attending a work dinner that evening.
I’d eaten alone and saved him a plate.
Now I knew where he’d really been.
Rachel looked horrified.
“He told me he’d spent that evening alone before coming to see me.”
I turned toward Gary.
For twenty-two years, I’d cooked his meals, supported his career, cared for his family, and believed his promises.
And he’d used those same years to portray me as a terrible wife.
“Debbie, please,” he began. “Rachel was controlling. She constantly questioned me.”
Rachel folded her arms.
“Because you kept lying!”
Gary turned toward me again.
“I’m sorry. I just want to come home.”
I stepped backward when he reached for my hand.
“What exactly are you apologizing for?”
“For everything!”
“Be specific.”
He hesitated.
“Look, Rachel’s apartment is in her name. She kicked me out, and hotels are expensive. I have nowhere to go.”
I stared at him.
Finally, I understood.
He wasn’t returning because he loved me.
He was returning because he needed somewhere to sleep.
“Gary, you’re not looking for forgiveness. You’re looking for free accommodation.”
His face hardened.
“You can’t just lock me out of my own house!”
I shook my head.
“Actually, I can.”
He blinked.
“What are you talking about?”
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