Chapter 7 - Andre's MotherMarcus called Evelyn Bell alone.

He sat in his car two blocks from the house because he did not want Taylor hearing the conversation.

Evelyn answered on the second ring.

Her voice was older than he expected.

"Marcus?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry this is how we meet."

Marcus stared through the windshield.

"I haven't decided whether we are meeting."

"Fair."

"How did you get my number?"

"Taylor gave it to me years ago as an emergency contact."

Marcus almost laughed.

Of course she had.

"What exactly do you think I need to know?"

Evelyn was silent for a moment.

"First, my son loved Taylor."

"I know."

"And Taylor loved him."

"I know that too."

"But love is not the same thing as a perfect relationship."

Marcus waited.

"Andre and Taylor fought constantly during their last year."

"About what?"

"Control. Careers. Marriage."

That differed from Taylor's preserved story of a future interrupted at its happiest point.

Evelyn continued.

"Andre wanted to move to Washington. Taylor didn't really want to go, but she was afraid refusing meant losing him."

"Taylor told me the opposite. She said she wanted to follow him."

"They both kept changing their minds."

Marcus rubbed his jaw.

"So what?"

"So after he died, Taylor froze their relationship at its best moment. Most people do something like that with grief."

"Why does that matter now?"

"Because she started calling the worst parts 'proof of passion.'"

Marcus understood.

"And me?"

Evelyn sighed.

"She described you as peaceful."

It should have been a compliment.

It didn't feel like one.

"What else?"

"Reliable. Patient. Kind."

Marcus gave a bitter laugh.

"So the man you marry after the exciting one dies."

"I didn't say that."

"She did?"

Evelyn hesitated.

"Once."

Marcus went cold.

"When?"

"Before your wedding."

"What exactly did she say?"

"I won't quote a grieving woman unfairly."

"Mrs. Bell."

"She said she loved the peace she had with you, but sometimes peace made her feel guilty because loving Andre had felt like fire."

Marcus stared ahead.

A traffic light turned green.

Then red again.

He hadn't moved.

"Did you tell her not to marry me?"

"No."

"I told her not to marry you until she could tell you the truth."

Marcus swallowed.

"She almost did."

"I know."

"Nicole helped her delete the message."

Evelyn sighed deeply.

"I didn't know that part."

Marcus gripped the steering wheel.

"Why did you give Taylor twenty-five thousand dollars?"

"It wasn't charity."

"What was it?"

"Andre owed her."

Marcus frowned.

"How?"

"They had been saving jointly for their wedding and apartment. Some money was in an account under his name because his credit union had better rates. After he died, it went through his estate to me."

"So you returned Taylor's portion."

"Yes."

That made the money far less mysterious.

Marcus appreciated the correction.

"And the twelve thousand for your taxes?"

Evelyn went quiet.

"I tried to return it."

"Taylor said you needed help."

"I did."

"Then why return it?"

"Because I understood what she was doing."

"What was she doing?"

"Paying penance."

Marcus looked toward the house visible at the end of the street.

"For the crash?"

"For surviving."

Silence.

Evelyn continued.

"Taylor believed if she kept taking care of me, maintained Andre's grave, kept his belongings, preserved his plans—she could justify being alive when he wasn't."

Marcus felt anger give way to something heavier.

"Did you know about the life insurance?"

"Yes."

"She used it toward our house."

"I learned that later."

"What did you say?"

"I told her it was her money, but not her secret."

Marcus closed his eyes.

Everyone had told Taylor.

Nicole.

Evelyn.

Taylor herself in the unsent note.

She had not been confused about honesty.

She had been afraid of consequences.

"Did she tell you she wanted to name the baby Andre?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"After she learned it was a boy."

"What did you say?"

"I told her absolutely not."

Marcus exhaled.

"Why?"

"Because your child is not my son's monument."

The clarity of the sentence hit him.

Evelyn's voice cracked.

"I loved Andre more than my own life. But my son is dead, Marcus. Your boy is alive."

Marcus looked down at his hands.

"The name isn't evil. But Taylor's reason for using it is."

"That's what I told her."

"What happened?"

"She got angry. Said I was trying to erase him."

"And were you?"

"No. I was trying to stop her from disappearing into him again."

Marcus sat in silence.

Then he asked, "What did you mean when you texted that Andre wasn't perfect?"

Evelyn hesitated.

"Andre was my son. I won't disrespect him."

"I'm not asking you to."

"He was jealous."

Marcus waited.

"Of what?"

"Taylor's ambition."

That surprised him.

"She wanted to become a hospital administrator. Andre worried her career would become more important than their family."

Taylor now worked as an operations director for a healthcare network.

Marcus had always been proud of her.

"Did he ask her to quit?"

"Not exactly. But he expected her to follow his career."

Marcus felt uneasy.

This was not monstrous behavior.

But it was a crack in the shrine.

"Did Taylor know you saw it that way?"

"Yes."

"Why does she talk like they were perfect?"

"Because dead people can't disappoint us anymore."

Marcus closed his eyes.

Evelyn's next words came softly.

"I have something Andre wrote."

"The unopened letter?"

"No."

Marcus opened his eyes.

"What?"

"A journal page."

"Why do you have it?"

"He left a notebook at my house."

"What does it say?"

"It mentions Taylor."

Marcus's heartbeat changed.

"Send me a picture."

"No."

He frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because grief is already making everyone treat paper like ammunition."

Marcus sat back.

Evelyn sounded tired.

"If you want to hear it, you and Taylor can come together."

"Why together?"

"Because it belongs to their story, but it affects yours."

Marcus almost refused.

Then Evelyn said:

"There is one sentence Taylor has needed to hear for seven years."

Marcus looked toward his home.

"What sentence?"

Evelyn paused.

"I won't tell you over the phone."

And then, before hanging up, she added:

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"But it has nothing to do with remembering Andre."

"It has to do with letting him go."