Page 76 of Missing Pieces
Chapter Thirty-One
“Hey Phil, how’s it going?” I acknowledge to the postman as he walks into the diner.
“Not too bad. Glad it’s not raining today, the last few days have really made my job less than desirable.” I laugh at him knowing he would never flat out say he hates his job when it rains. “I saw that I had a package for you that needed to be signed for and decided to bring it here since you weren’t home. Hope that’s alright.”
“Of course. No idea what it is but thanks. Have a great day,” I say as I sign for the thick manila envelope. I watch him walk out before bringing the envelope to the counter and ripping it open. “Holy fuck.”
“What’s wrong?” Ivy asks as she emerges out of the kitchen covered in flour from her new attempt at baking.
I can’t give her an answer as I stare at the papers in front of me in disbelief. She looks over my shoulder trying to get a glimpse before she screams, “Holy fucking shit.”
Luckily the Sergeants left twenty minutes ago and there are only two tables with people in the diner and they don’t seem to give a shit about mine or Ivy’s vulgar outburst.
“How did this even happen? Something has to be wrong,” I say as I read over the documents from my lawyer. Everything. I got everything. Every single dime that was considered equal property between the two of us went to me. Ivy rips the letter from my lawyer out of my hand. “’Due to unforeseen circumstances, you are no longer needed to appear in court as the judge has decided that all properties and monetary ownership be issued to Harper Edith Evans. A check from the defendant is enclosed with half the funds owed. The rest of the monetary agreement will be paid through alimony payments from Andrew Adam Lawson. Due to the length of the marriage alimony payments will be extended to match the years of marriage in the length of three years. Monthly payments will be issued in the amount of $13,889.’ What the holy fuck?” Ivy scrambles through the rest of the papers in front of me and pulls out a check for five hundred thousand dollars. “You are a freaking millionaire!” she shrieks.
I rip the check out of her hand. “You mind keeping it down? I don’t need everyone here to know.”
“Sweetie, everyone is gonna know regardless of if I opened my mouth or not.” She glances down at the check again, disbelief flooding her face. “Harp, you told me you all had money up north, but I didn’t realize this much money!”
“Yeah, well I don’t like to talk about it. Part of the money was my trust fund that I made the mistake of allowing him access to. He also made a shit ton of money at his job. That’s why I lived the lifestyle I did.” I look down at the letter and the check completely confused. “I have no idea why I got all this though. My trust fund was only five hundred thousand. He was the one that worked. I didn’t make anywhere near the money he made. I think I need to call my lawyer.”
“I think we need to celebrate. Lawyers can be called later. Party planning now. And shopping! We have to go shopping!” Ivy jumps up and down.
I laugh as I put my hands on her shoulders. “We can celebrate. Absolutely. I just want to find out why this happened. I have no idea why I was never needed in court. I only signed a few statements. My lawyer was convinced I would have to go to court. This makes no sense.”
“Well call your damn lawyer. I am going to plan a party.”
I shake my head as I walk away from Ivy, utterly blown away and confused.
* * *
My conversation with my lawyer nearly blew my mind. Apparently, two of the women Drew had an affair with wrote statements on my behalf. The judge also disagreed with Drew keeping my dog despite the fact Poe was stolen, technically. The judge empathized with me on the entire situation. The kicker was the fact Drew had been taking money out of my trust to invest in overseas companies that had illegal ties. The FBI was in the middle of an investigation which was the reason the case was held up for so long. The judge was sick of waiting and made an agreement with the FBI so our case could be closed. I guess the extra five hundred thousand dollars was nothing compared to the money that was overseas. And if Drew was found guilty, his legal cash assets would be given to me immediately.
Ivy was just as dumbfounded as I was. We closed the diner down right at three p.m. We both went back to Easton’s to get ready for the party she apparently put together in the twenty minutes I was on the phone with my lawyer. Despite the fact we were just going to Sawyer’s I decked myself out in one of my party dresses, a beautiful light pink sheath with a lace overlay and plunging neckline. I felt like I needed to tape the girls in, but Ivy insisted I leave it natural. She donned one of my little black dresses that I knew she needed to keep. It was an over-the-top silver metallic dress with a fringe bottom. It brought together the best of my world and hers.
As we both strapped on some heels, she leaned into my shoulder. “You know I am so happy you got stuck in this town. Despite our fight a few weeks ago and obviously none of this has got to do with your money” —she winks at me— “you are one of the best friends I’ve ever had, and I just want you to know you are one of the best people to ever stumble into my life and I love you.”
I lean into her and hug her letting her know I feel the same. We wipe tears from our eyes as we stand up and descend the stairs. “Wait, before we go to your divorce party we need to have a shot and a toast.”
I follow her into the kitchen as she grabs a bottle of whiskey and pours two shots. She passes one over and says, “To burning our pasts and living our futures.” I clink her glass as I smile and down the shot.
* * *
“Well, I sure as hell feel underdressed!” Summer screeches as she struts into the bar. She isn’t. Ivy must have told her we were dressing up. She has on a sleek hot pink number that puts her boobs on display and I was sure if she even bent over an inch her ass would hang out. We all giggled at each other as we complimented our outfits.
“Y’all would think I was turning this place into a nightclub,” Trace comments as he leans between us to grab his beer off the high-top table.
Ivy shoves him, “Oh hush you. I know damn well you appreciate what I am wearing.” She pressed her hand down the length of her body while giving her husband a sex kitten pout.
“I’d like it better on the floor,” Trace grumbled. Ivy went to grab for his hand and I knew she wanted to go to the office, but Easton walked over at that moment and slapped Trace on the shoulder. Ivy’s pout became more prominent and I had to hold back a laugh. Thank god for birth control because I swear she would have fifteen kids by now with her and Trace’s extracurriculars.
“You hogging all these fine ladies?” Easton asks just as Brett walks over.
“He can have whomever he wants except Mrs. Anderson,” Brett chimes in. Summer leans into him. “I only got eyes for you, Mr. Anderson.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that and smile as I looked around at all of us, my new family. For the first time in a long time I felt so happy I thought I was going to burst. Easton pressed a kiss to my temple and grabbed my ass before walking over to the bar.
I gossiped with the girls until Easton got back. I figured we should talk about the divorce being finalized. All I was able to do was send him a text. He walks over with a tray of shots and calls everyone else over, Grace, Charlotte, Bella, and Brooks. He passes out the shots and raises his glass, “To my girl, Harper, finally being a free woman legally!”