Sunshine After The Rain

Chapter Nine

With her mother having to get back to work, Sophie drove her to the airport the morning after the funeral, while Lucas took the children to the water park two hours away. He too would leave tomorrow with the promise of being back the following weekend, but Sophie had no clue how to handle her own life anymore.

Because two people took over her responsibilities, the slightest pressure of them being placed upon her once again felt like too much considering all the things she still needed to do.

One thing wasn't the pile of legal work that still needed completion, but the thing that gnawed at her insides, leaving her feeling empty for the last six months. Sophie spotted the woman sitting on a bench, staring through the small groups of people at nothing, her long blonde hair dancing in the in the breeze of the unseasonably chilly summer's day.

She hated having this woman sitting in the park she brought her children to, tainting all the memories Sophie once cherished, but it was better than somewhere more public and crowded in the event she couldn't keep her many emotions in check.

As she thought back to the words Garret spoke the day before, Sophie took a deep breath and reminded herself that her husband played them both for fools. She may have been with Jason for longer, and shared a family and home with him, but that didn't make Anna's feelings any less her own or any less valid.

"Garret told me you didn't know were still together," Sophie said as she sat down on the bench beside her husband's mistress.

Anna shook her head, seeming to have already sensed Sophie's presence since she didn't much react to it. "I didn't."

"And that you were pregnant." The word dragged across her skin like a blade; not piercing through, but acting more as a threat of the damage it could inflict.

"Two months. I almost didn't tell him. Things had been off with us and it felt like he planned to break up with me. I didn't want a guy just staying with me because I was pregnant, but my dad never even knew about me until I was twelve years old. I didn't want my kid growing up not knowing who their father was, and I felt like Jason had the right to know."

That was a fair way to look at it, Sophie had to admit. Being around the woman, it was becoming harder to hold on to the anger within her. She didn't appear conniving and didn't seem like a home wrecker. Like Sophie, she wasn't posh or sophisticated. Anna was just a normal woman who fell in love with the wrong man.

It should have been a relief to know that her husband thought of ending the affair, but that he had one to begin with made it impossible.

"You would have been a single mother either way. He's always been terribly unhelpful when it comes to parenting," Sophie spoke before realizing she needed to correct herself. "Was terribly unhelpful."

Past tense.

But one thing he did was provided for his kids. So Sophie took out the checkbook of their joint account, one they rarely used and had to check the balance of the night before, and ripped out the check she'd already made out. "This is for you."

Anna glared at the small piece of paper and crinkled her nose in disgust. "Are you buying me off?"

Sophie wasn't surprised it appeared that way, and given Jason's status, she couldn't blame Anna one bit at her reaction. "Jason would have supported his child and made sure they had everything they needed. I know my husband's gone, but that doesn't mean you'll lose that support, whether or not you wanted it.

"The baby inside you is half of his responsibility," Sophie explained further. "As his wife, his responsibilities fall on me. Once your baby is born, I'll set up a college fund like we did for our kids and put in the exact amount that he was putting in for them. This baby is no less his than our children were, Anna, and it's entitled to everything it would have got if Jason was alive."

Anna held the check for twenty thousand dollars between her pointer and middle finger. "So, this isn't hush money?"

Sophie shook her head. "It's just money to help you raise your child," she reassured. "I googled how much it costs to raise a child, so I'll also write you a check for seven thousand a year until they turn eighteen. Expenses can be astronomical the first year, so that's why this check is up there. It isn't hush money, Anna.

"He told me that night that he wanted a divorce. Even if it was just because you were pregnant, he chose you. He wanted to be there for you, and even though I don't owe him a goddamn thing, I don't want you to struggle because of my resentment towards him, because Garett's right, you did nothing wrong in all this."

Anna slid the check into the pocket of her jean jacket and gave her a soft smile, slight dimples forming on her cheeks. "I wouldn't blame you if you hated me, you know. If you need to unload, I can handle it. I may burst into tears as soon as you leave, but I'll survive."

While Anna offering herself as a sacrifice was a gracious gesture, it only acted as further proof that Sophie couldn't hate her. "I prefer to pick my fights with the dead, since they can't fight back and all. I'm not a second place kind of gal, so an even playing field just won't do it for me."

Sophie looked ahead at all the children running around in the park. Though she'd just intended to get a few answers and give Anna some money to help her better afford her child, the meeting became so much more than that. Not only did Sophie not hate this woman, she couldn't help but like her, acting as a reminder that she probably was losing her mind.

"It isn't just a father that deserves to know. Your child has overbearing grandparents that would drive you crazy and a great uncle who would absolutely love them. I don't want my own kids knowing just yet, but I think his family should."

"Do they know about me?" Anna asked, taken aback by the suggestion.

Sophie shook her head and despite the smile forming, possibly looking inappropriate given the conversation, it came from a place of good intentions, as did the words she spoke. "His parents don't, but I think they should know who their son was, not just this jaded image of perfection, but flaws and all. If they don't want to be in their grandkids life, that's their choice.

"His brother Lucas is a good man, though. Him and his brother were never close, but that hasn't stopped him from being there for me and the kids. If he knows it won't hurt me, I think he'll want to be there for you too."

"And if everyone hates me?" Anna asked before she continued. "I deserve it. I never intended to break up your family, Sophie, but that's exactly what I did. They should hate me. You should hate me."

Hate, Sophie found, was a useless emotion. Even now, as much as a minor part of her hated her husband for all he did, her pity for him was so much stronger. He was just a sad man incapable of genuine happiness because of his constant need of something more. Jason was never satisfied, and she felt sorry for him because of that. "If they hate you, it's because they can't handle the truth about the son they raised."