Love In Strange Places (16 page)

He pulled out his cell, and dialed.

“What’s up, Andrew?” Shannon answered happily.

“
Sherry’s going to need you.” Even to his own ears, his voice rattled.

“Why?”

“We’re done.” He hung up and walked out of the building.

Sherry didn’t understand how it had all happened. She’d kept the blackmail a secret because she didn’t want to hurt anyone. Andrew hadn’t even let her explain.

“
Sherry!” Shannon rushed into her office.

She looked up and began crying all over again. “We’re over….”

“What happened?” She ran over to her sister and wiped her tears away.

She pointed to the pictures on the floor. Shannon got down and picked them up. “Did you cheat on him with Dean?”

“No, but he thinks I did.” She sniffled. “Dean’s wife told him I was sleeping with him and he believed her. He didn’t let me explain.”

“Dean’s married?”

“I guess so, but I swear, Shannon, I didn’t now.”

“I believe you.”

She stared at her sister. “I never thought it was possible, but I love Andrew with all my heart.”

“
Sherry, he loves you too. Just give him some time. He’ll eventually come around.” She patted her back.

“He won’t
.” She pulled a tissue out the box and wiped her eyes. “He made me sign the divorce papers.”

“He what?”

“He brought the divorce papers with him.”

“Why would you sign them, knowing he was m
ad? You know he’s hot-headed. Sometimes he doesn’t think before he acts.” Shannon sat in the chair in front her desk.

“You didn’t see the hate in his eyes.”
She took a deep breath. “He knew exactly what he was saying when he said, he wanted a DNA test and called me a whore.”

“He what?” Shannon yelled. “No, he didn’t.”

“He didn’t even hear me out. I’ll get over this. The babies and I will be just fine.” She wiped her tears again and picked up the sonogram. “I have to find a place to stay.”

“You don’t have to. You’re staying with me.”

“I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re my sister. You can never impose on us.”

“I’ll only stay until I find a place.” She powered down her computer. “I need to get to the house and get my stuff before he gets home.”

Shannon looked at her with pity.

“What?”

“He already had all your stuff delivered to the house.”

“He thought of everything.” She picked up her purse.

“What happened with Dean?” Shannon helped her up.

“It’s a long story and I don’t want to talk about it. Please.”

“Okay, let’s go home.”

Andrew was miserable without her. He missed her stories, her laugh, everything about the woman he’d fallen in love with. He couldn’t sleep well at night because he missed holding her. He was at home in the dark, drinking. There were shattered vases, roses and broken glass, all over his living room. When he’d come home, the boxes had been on the doorstep. He’d forgotten he had ordered them. He’d wanted to surprise her with flowers, but that never happened, because of him. Why didn’t he hear her out?

His doorbell rang and he ignored it. “Andrew, open the damn door or I’ll use my key,” Matt yelled.

Andrew growled, getting up, and s
wung the door open. “What?” he yelled.

“Why haven’t you answered my calls?” Matt pushed him out of the way and entered his house. “You called her a whore and asked for a paternity test. What’s fucking wrong with you?”

He slammed his front door shut. “What would you do if you found out Shannon cheated on you?”

Matt glared at him and didn’t answer.

“What do you expect me to think? We’d been trying for months and nothing, and then the day I find her with him is the same fucking day we found out she was pregnant.” He poured himself some more vodka. “I’m not you. I won’t forgive and forget.”

“Are you sure that’s what happened?”

“His wife came to my office with proof, and when I confronted Sherry, she had guilt all over her face.” He took a gulp of his drink.

“
Sherry would never do that to you. She might be a lot of things, but a cheater she’s not.” Matt raised his voice.

Andrew laughed sarcastically. “You think you know her so well?”

“There has to be more to this story. Did you let her explain?”

“I don’t need her explanation. We’re done.”

“You’re just going to let the only woman you’ve ever loved go without a fight, just like dad did, and then you say I never got over our parents’ divorce…. But you know what I see, brother? You never got over our mother’s betrayal. Now Sherry’s paying for what our mother did.”

His brother’s words hurt him because that’s exactly what he had been doing. He should’ve let her explain.

Andrew marched to the door and opened it wide. “Get out!”

Matt glared at him. “
Sherry’s a good woman. Fix this before you regret it.”

After a week of thinking, going over the events that had transpired, Andrew decided he needed his wife back. He couldn’t breathe right without her around. His house was empty, just like his heart.

He rang Matt and Shannon’s doorbell, and Shannon opened the door.

“Andrew, what do you want?”

“I need to talk to her.”

“Haven’t you done enough? I have never seen my sister this hurt, over nothing.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Shannon, I’m sorry.” He couldn’t look her in the eyes or say anything else. “Please let me see her.”

She wouldn’t move. “I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I thought you would make my sister happy, but instead you broke her.” She glared at him.

“I made a mistake, Shannon, a mistake that I’ll probably never forgive myself for but I want her back.” He finally met her eyes. “She’s my soul mate.”

Shannon was about to say something, but was stopped by the sound of her son running up behind her.

“
Tio
.” Matthew took his uncle’s hand and pulled him inside the house. “I’ve missed you.”

Andrew passed Shannon to follow Matthew. “I’ve missed you, too.”

He kept pulling him along. “You made my aunty cry. Now you have to make it better.” Matthew opened the guest bedroom door.

Sherry
was lying down with Makayla caressing her stomach. They’d been watching cartons and they both looked up at the same time.

“Uncle Andrew!” Makayla jumped off the bed and ran up to him. He picked her up.

She pressed her nose against his. “Nose, nose, Uncle.”

“Hey, princess.” He kissed her cheek and put her down, staring at
Sherry the entire time.

Matthew grabbed his sister’s hand. “Come on, Makayla.”

“No, I want to play with the baby.”

Matthew forcefully pulled her out of the room and closed the door, leaving the adults alone.

Andrew found he didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t prepared to see the look of sadness and disappointment in his wife’s eyes.

“Get out.”

“Sherry, we need to talk.” Other than to speak, he didn’t move a muscle.

“There is nothing to talk about. You made it perfectly clear.” She turned her back toward him.

“Words can’t express how truly sorry I am for the things I said and the way I treated you—” He placed his hands in his back pockets.

“Regret? It’s too late. Just leave.”

He didn’t want to make her upset or cause her blood pressure to elevate. His only course was to leave it alone for now. He opened the door, “I love you and I don’t regret one second I spent with you.”

As he closed the door, Matthew ran up to him with Shannon close behind. “Did you fix it,
Tio
?”

Andrew bent down and kissed his nephew’s forehead. “No. Thanks, Shannon.” He marched to the door and grabbed the handle.

Sherry
got up and watched from the bedroom window as Andrew left the house.
How could someone you love with all your heart, hurt you so much?

Shannon entered her room. “I’m sorry about that. Matthew let him in.”

“It’s okay.” She turned to face her. “I’ll be signing the lease today.”

“You don’t have to leave.”

“I know, but I need my own space. Somewhere he can’t find me.”

“I understand.”

Sherry wobbled to the bed and sat. “Why didn’t you tell me love could hurt so much?”

Shannon hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”

“If I’d known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have opened my heart. All those years I never let anyone in and the one time I do, I let some jerk—who didn’t like me in the first place—break it to pieces.” She backed away from her sister’s embrace. “I guess he got what he wanted out of that contract.” She rubbed her stomach.

Shannon cupped her face. “Andrew loves you. I’ve never seen him so vulnerable over a woman, or anything. He made a huge mistake, but he wants you back.”

“It’s too late.”

“Is it?”

“
Sherry, please talk to me.” She listened to Andrew’s tenth message for the day, but she was done. She’d done all the crying she was going to do over a man. She was going to be strong for the babies.

Andrew had gone to Matt and Shannon’s house, pleading to talk to her again, but she couldn’t. He’d sent her flowers, chocolate, teddy bears, and gifts. They were all thrown into the trash unopened, except for her favorite chocolate. It had been a month since he’d walked out on her, and she finally had a new routine down. Shannon and Tiffany were always there to lend a hand, and Dewayne had become her friend the last few weeks.

There was a knock on her door, and the door opened as Dewayne came through. “Hey, lets go to lunch,”

Her office phone rang and she answered without looking at the caller ID. “Good morning, Tech-Source, this is
Sherry Jones. How may I help you?”

“
Sherry, please don’t hang up.” Andrew’s voice came through the line. “I’ve given you time. I miss you.”

She laughed. “You miss me?”

“I was a fool. Please don’t give up on us.”

“You were the one
who gave up on me the moment you attacked me without even giving me the benefit of the doubt.” She took a breath.

“I was wrong.”

“Andrew, listen to me. Live your life and I’ll live mine,” she sighed. “I’m going to tell you this for the last time. We’re over!”

There was silence.

She continued, wanting to say it all, get it over with. “Once the baby is born, you can have your DNA test. I guess that will be one regret that will last a lifetime.” She hung up. “Dewayne, lets go to lunch.”

He sat behind his desk, staring at the phone. Was it really over? Had he lost the only woman he’d ever loved? She didn’t want anything to do with him. S
he doesn’t love me anymore. I didn’t mean to hurt her. My pride, ego got in my way. Dad always told me not to make the same mistakes he made. He said fight for the woman you love and that is what I’m going to do
.

He was man enough to know he’d made a mistake. Dean’s wife could’ve made up some of the story. Why hadn’t he heard her out, or better yet why hadn’t he stopped and thought before acting?
I’m a fucking lawyer. I know better. There’s always two sides to a story.

“I need my wife back,” he whispered to himself.

“Sorry, brother, but I think it’s too late.” Matt walked into his office.

Andrew just stared at him.

“Like you, Sherry is hard-headed. Even if she wanted to forgive you, her pride and ego will not let her.” He sat. “You need to get yourself together.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve heard you’ve been giving all your cases to Jason and John. You have that big case coming up. You need to focus. Let her go. She’s trying to move on.”

“So now you’re telling me to give up.”

“No, I’m saying take a break. You need to be at your best when your baby arrives.”

“Man, you don’t know how much I already love that baby. I wish I could take back everything I said to her.” Andrew covered his face with his hands. “I could never regret getting married to her, or our baby.”

“Do you believe she cheated on you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Andrew, if you can’t trust her then it’s better that it ended. Like you told me years ago, you can be great parents and not live under the same roof.”