Page 108 of Finding Our Reality

“I told him it was time for a divorce. That was four years ago. Even though it was a simple divorce—no alimony, no child support, no assets or liabilities to split—it took him nearly a year to finalize it. He wanted to drag it out so he could play the shocked and grieving husband card.”

“You didn’t tell anyone what he did to you?”

She shakes her head. “His father had lined up some initial clients for me when I was starting my business. He still had a relationship with them. He threatened to ruin my reputation if I said anything negative against Hudson. As twisted as it sounds, I felt like I owed them some small portion of gratitude. I mean, they paid for my health insurance, paid off my hospital bills,paid for my college, financially supported me when my own parents disowned me. I did some due diligence, though, before agreeing to that. I knew several of his mistresses. I checked with them, and he had never been violent or mean with any of them. He treated them like princesses. All of the affairs ended amicably. It was only me. He only treated me that way because he knew I would always choose you over him. And he didn’t like that.”

I would always choose you over him.

And yet, I drove her into his arms.

We sit in silence for a while, listening to the summer noises of the cicadas and crickets and tree frogs. It’s a lot of information to absorb. A ton. Happy news, devastating news, unbelievably remarkable news.

Even though I had planned to reach out to Lulu someday, I never thought all ofthiswould happen. A few short months ago, that first night in the bar, she was driving me bat-shit crazy, and now? Now, she’s still driving me bat-shit crazy. But for all the same wonderful reasons she drove me crazy twelve years ago.

Suddenly, a crushing pain chokes me, making me stutter over my words. “Did you… Is she… What happened to…” I struggle to take a breath. “What I mean is, is there a place I can visit her? Did you bury her in Michigan?”

Her whisper is low. I lean closer to hear her. “I asked that she be cremated. I spread her ashes.”

Oh. “Where?”

Lulu points behind her head, toward the darkened woods. “Here.”

“Huh?”

“I came here during Spring Break that following spring. Hiked through the woods, spread her ashes at the creek.”

Holy. Shit. “She’s here? She’s been here with me this whole time?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why you were so upset when we went to the creek with Laura,” I say, suddenly making sense of Lulu’s reaction that day.

“I wasn’t upset. I was in awe. All of those wildflowers? There were never that many flowers there before. When you told me you didn’t plant them, I knew it was her. She’s been telling you, year after year, that she’s okay.”

My daughter. My little baby. My angel.

I bite the inside of my cheek. I refuse to cry again tonight. I’ve had enough of that to last me for a lifetime. “What’s her name? Did you name her?”

“Of course, I named her. Our daughter’s name is Reality.”

Reality reminds you where you belong.

Hell yeah, it does.

Chapter 35

ELLA

I strum my fingers on the dashboard of Ry’s old truck—his grandfather’s truck. It’s always the vehicle we take for surprises.

After absorbing the massive heap of information I just threw his way, Ry checked his watch, jumped up, and asked if I felt like a surprise. What did I say? I said yes.

Of course, I said yes.

We drove into town, stopped at the store, and bought a bunch of random items—toiletries, food products, socks, books, school supplies, unisex sweatshirts, blankets. He bought a gigantic storage container to put everything in. He had me pack it all. It was a tight fit. I had to arrange everything like a puzzle and, even now, the lid won’t close. Items are spilling from the top. It’s so heavy, I don’t even know how he can carry it.

Well, I’ve seen his muscles so technically, I knowhowhe can carry it.

We’ve been sitting across the road from a small one-story house for about ten minutes now. The outside is trimmed and neat, but you can tell it’s in need of some maintenance. The front columns and windowsills have peeling paint, the side wooden gate is broken, and the roof is missing a few shingles.

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