Lessons (Andy Barber)

Chapter 10

Andy had left Laurie to think about the possibility of marriage counselling for a week or so, not bothering to mention it in the hopes that she would come around. She hadn't though and he decided now that Jacob was staying at a friend's for the night, he would talk to her about it.

"We need to talk..." He said to Laurie as they sat watching something on TV that evening, then reaching for the remote and switching it off. "Have you given any more thought to what I suggested the other week?"

She looked a little hostile. "Not the counselling thing again..."

"I'm serious Laurie, what have we got to lose? Do you even wanna make this work?" Andy now asked, the desperation rising within him.

"Of course I do, but we can work for it ourselves!"

"How can we when you're rarely here or willing to make the effort!"

Laurie now glared at him. "Oh, so once again it's my fault! It's always my fault! For goodness sake Andy, can you not see just how much I am trying with Jake!"

"Did I say that it was your fault? No! And trying with Jake? Really? He asked you something earlier and you barely replied to him! You've been so fucking distant with him, and he's done nothing wrong! You're doing the same to me! You're pushing me away for no reason!" He ran his hands down his face, now pacing in front of her. "You are his mother! You should be supporting him! Instead it's me that's been working hard to ensure he makes it through graduation, has everything he needs to succeed as well as the support to move away from all the shit that we've been put through..."

He was cut off

"Oh for crying out lord Andy, I've been trying to cope with all the shit he's been putting as through here as well! You think I've had it easy? Geez! He fights me! He hates me, you only have to look at some of the expressions he gives me, and yet you mollycoddle him and he sees me as the bad guy? You're not even his father!"

The words were out of her mouth before she even had a chance to stop her.

Andy stared at her hard. "What..."

She shook her head. "I..."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Laurie didn't look at him, "LAURIE!" He yelled, feeling everything begin to spin. "Did you just tell me that Jake isn't mine?" He asked, wondering whether he'd heard her right.

Laurie still didn't look at him. "You're not his father..." and then she decided to look up at where he was standing. "I slept with someone else while we were engaged...then I found out I was pregnant. I didn't know whether it was you or the other guy so when Jacob was born? I got the tests done without you knowing...he's not yours..."

Andy stared at her in disbelief. "You mean to tell me, that the boy I have raised, loved, and fought for is not even my blood?"

"I'm sorry..."

He interrupted her now raising his voice - the rage now rushing through him. "I have done everything! Everything to see that this family stays together! I put myself through hell to try and keep you and Jake safe! And for what? For a son that's not even mine? For a wife who's lied to me right from the beginning?"
He didn't know how to feel, he was hurt, angry and confused for a start. He's not your son, he's not your son, were the words spinning in his head. His wife had lied to him, cheated on him before their marriage had well and truly begun.

What had this all been for? Their whole marriage had been lie after lie. Even during Jacob's trial they'd had that same heated discussion. Everything based on a fairytale and built on nothing.

And now it was true.

Laurie was still silent and looked at her. The two words he'd never wanted to say now being the only ones in his head. The outcome that he'd not wanted.