Chapter 6 Tristan Lord

• Though he had been older than me by almost two decades, we found happiness in each other’s arms. Little Jack had been born two years ago and my lover had been over the moon with joy. My parents who had come to visit me twice had been mildly surprised the first time to find that he was almost as old as them but they accepted my decision in their calm way. They also took to Jack and got along with him easily.
• My darling Flower Children, I had thought fondly as I had hugged them goodbye.
• Jack had been my world. But now, suddenly, at the age of twenty-two, I was left a single mother and defenceless...
• A tear trickled down as I thought of him
• ‘Oh, Jack! I thought despairingly, What will I do without you beside me now?
• A sudden stillness in the air alerted me to the presence of an unpleasant arrival. I stiffened. I knew that it had to be Andrea, Jack’s ex-wife.
• She was older than me, almost forty years old herself. She had been two years older than Jack too. I had heard from Beth that she had established a very successful career for herself as a social media influencer, whatever that was. The ladies of the town were proud of her achievements. After all, she was One of Their Own. While I was the Outsider.
• We had never met before, Andrea and I. But once the news of his death reached her, she had sent word through our lawyer, Joe Seaton that she intended to attend the funeral. And the reason for her decision had made me stop breathing for a second.
• ***
• I still remembered that hot April afternoon.
• Old Joe Seaton had looked at me apologetically over the top of his steel-rimmed glasses. He had been a dear friend of Jack’s and the man who handled Jack’s legal matters. Joe’s wife Beth and he were one of the few families who had welcomed me unconditionally.
• As Beth said,
• “Jack is happy after a long while. You are also looking radiant and happy. That is what matters.’
• ***
• Joe had come to meet me as I sat, lost and confused. the evening after Jack’s sudden death, Beth had been somewhere inside the house, bustling about, fixing a plate of cookies for my son. With a sigh, he gazed out through the window of our large home and said gently,
• “I’m sorry, my dear. Jack revised his will a few months back. So …ahem… you and little Jack here have been left a considerable sum of money.’ he cast a woeful look at my son, who was playing outside in the garden.
• ’ You are …I mean…the house belongs to little Jack. But…’
• Here he had cleared his throat and stopped talking.
• I stared at him, puzzled.
• He had gone on, polishing his glasses, trying to avoid my clear gaze,
• ‘Andrea…hmmm…you have never met her, right?
• Dumbly, I had shaken my head. I was twenty-one and although Jack had been almost two decades older than me, we had loved each other. He had been a tender, gentle person and it had saddened him immensely that his ex-wife, had never come to meet him after she had left him unceremoniously, filing for a divorce on grounds of incompatibility.
• Although she had been the one who had been unfaithful.
• That had been twenty years ago.
• Poor Jack had continued to carry a candle for her since they had been childhood sweethearts. Every year, without fail, Jack sent her a card on her birthday. He kept trying to call her to wish her. The longing in his eyes as he waited for a reply had been unbearable. Inevitably, there was never an acknowledgement, never a response.
• I had known that I would always be the second-best in his life but I had never minded. I suppose I was foolish but I really loved him…
• Once, he had cried softly, his head buried in his hands sitting on the wide porch steps. I had gathered him in my arms, pulling his dear head down to my generous breasts, as he spoke of her. We had made love tenderly there in the moonlight. I had tried to please him, make him feel whole and complete in the only ways I knew of. The memory of that night spent in making quiet, gentle love saddened me further. I sighed.
• ***
• That afternoon, as I sat listening to Joe Seaton, my heart sank. He studied my face seriously and said softly.
• ‘Andrea has decided to challenge the will made by Jack last year. She says she wants the house; it belongs to her.”
• ***
• I stared at him, stupefied, unable to believe my ears. Jack had told me about how he had built the house on the property that had belonged to his father. how he had paid for everything in the house, I knew for a fact that he had NOT taken a penny from Andrea.
• But Jack was no longer here to present the truth.
• It would be Andrea’s words against mine.
• “Apparently, she had also invested a whole lot of money in this property.’
• He sighed and turned to look at me, sadness and a quiet defeat in his eyes as he went on, He knew the truth too.
• “Andrea is going to contest the will, my dear.’ He said gloomily"And her lawyer is none other than her current beau, Tristan Lord."
• Once again, he looked away worriedly as he went on, "Lord is a Devil in the court. he slams the opposition and is known for playing dirty."
• I trembled.
• Licking my dry lips, I whispered.
• “Is that…I mean, is that possible?’
• And immediately after that came the thought,
• ‘Joe, where will I go…if that happens, I mean?’
• ***
• That had been a day ago. Now I dreaded the encounter with the woman who had always been the first love of the man who had been my lover, my life. Sleepless, I had wandered around the spacious house, touching the beloved objects we had bought, simple objects; the small wooden toys Jack had carved for our son with such love. The photographs scattered around the house in cheap plastic frames, with Jack Jr, and me, a few rare ones of Jack and me.
• Finally, I had sunk onto a seat, weeping softly, desolate and scared. The water shimmering outside the long windows made me feel desolate and weary.
• My parents had promised to come but they had not been able to make it to the funeral. Ma had fallen down from the stool when she was working and had injured her back badly. The doctor had forbidden her from travelling and I had also urged her to wait for a week to come to me.
• I did not tell them of Andrea’s threat, knowing full well that they would turn up, regardless of any injury, if they felt that I needed moral support. Though I was devastated and terrified, I was not about to put them out. Poor Dad was ageing and the long drive across the country from the coast where they resided, would be too much for them.