When 75-year-old Richard spots his ex-wife Vanessa with a man 20 years her junior, he assumes they’re dating and starts a fight.
To his surprise, Vanessa reveals that the man with her is their son he never knew existed.
But that’s not the only secret Vanessa has been keeping.
Richard was walking home from the grocery store when an unpleasant sight stopped him in his tracks. His ex-wife, Vanessa, was walking arm-in-arm with a man around 20 years her junior. “Is she seeing someone else…already?”
Richard was furious.
He watched them enter a café and hurried in after them. Bitterness surged into his nerves when he witnessed Vanessa and the guy holding hands and smiling over something at a window table. He couldn’t bear seeing Vanessa moving on so soon after their divorce.
So he angrily stormed to their table.
“What the hell, Vanessa?” Richard banged on the table, startling Vanessa and the guy with her. “Well, well! My 72-year-old ex-wife has found a new man to romance just a few weeks after leaving her husband!
Bravo..! And how long have you been together?”
Vanessa was so embarrassed and pleaded with Richard to stop. Simon, the man with Vanessa, rose from his seat.
“Mom…is this my Dad?” he asked. Richard was astounded. “What did you say?”
At this moment, Vanessa understood she couldn’t hide the truth from her ex-husband or Simon.
“Richard, please sit. I have something to tell both of you…Do you remember when we first met 54 years ago…at the bar?” Vanessa’s voice trembled as she recounted her past.
It was the fall of September 1968. 17-year-old Vanessa and her friends were thrilled by their success at sneaking out of their homes to party at the pub.
“Van, you sure your Dad didn’t see you sneaking out of the house? I don’t want the party to turn into some church sermon!” One of the girls joked as they burst into the pub.
Vanessa’s father, Alan, was a pastor at the local church, so Vanessa had a strict upbringing. She wasn’t allowed to hang out with her friends after sunset.
Sunday school was a norm. Hard drinks and late-night parties were strictly banned. And definitely no sex or drugs.
Vanessa hated it.
She loved her Dad but not his restrictions. She wanted a life full of adventure, like her friends. So that night, Vanessa had mustered the courage to sneak out after her parents fell asleep and accompanied her friends to the pub.
Rock’ n’ roll melodies played in the background as the teenagers made their way toward an empty table and immersed themselves in the glitz and glamor of nightlife.
Soon, Vanessa and her friend, Carla, headed to the bar to get drinks. “By the way, I heard Dylan will be here tonight with his friends!” Carla said.
“It’s over between Dylan and me! Period!
I don’t even want to talk about him!” Vanessa replied. She and Dylan had recently broken up, so knowing he was going to be at the pub irked Vanessa. She sat at the bar and ordered a martini.
As she chugged her drink, a handsome stranger walked up to her.
“Hey there, gorgeous!” the 21-year-old lad said, leaning closer to Vanessa. “My name is Richard. Can I buy you a drink?”
Vanessa was new to taking hard drinks, and it felt like stars were bursting around her head.
When she looked at Richard, she thought he was cute and couldn’t resist his charm. “I’d be delighted!” Vanessa smiled and locked eyes with Richard seductively. She fell for him at first sight.
Richard and Vanessa talked as if they had known each other for ages and danced to jazz music rolling in the background.
“I’m new to this town,” Richard said as he wrapped his arms around Vanessa and pulled her closer. “Came here on business. Hey, shall we go for a drive?
Maybe you could show me around?”
“Oh, I’d love to…but it’s getting late,” Vanessa said when she saw the time on her watch. However, she immediately changed her mind when she saw how disappointed Richard was. He was too charming for her to say no, so she agreed to go with him.
That night was nothing short of magical for Vanessa.
She and Richard drove across the bustling streets, laughing and chatting. They kissed passionately, and soon Vanessa found herself wrapped in Richard’s arms as she experienced her first intimate encounter. It felt like a fairy tale.
They kissed again after dressing, then Richard drove Vanessa home.
Every inch of her heart wanted her to stay with him as Vanessa crept into her bedroom. She watched from her window as Richard waved goodbye and disappeared into the night.
Vanessa decided to forget everything about that night and move on with her life until she started feeling nauseous three weeks later. “Vanessa, what’s wrong?” Vanessa’s stepmother, Rebecca, banged on the bathroom door.
“I heard everything, Vanessa. You better come out and explain why you are crying.”
Moments later, an unsettled Vanessa emerged from the restroom, holding onto her stomach and wiping her face. “I am sick…I have a terrible headache.”
“Why are you holding your stomach if it’s a headache?” Rebecca’s cold and suspicious tone froze Vanessa.
“Girl, who do you think you’re trying to fool?”
“I said I’m feeling sick,” Vanessa stuttered and ran back to the bathroom to throw up. Rebecca’s worst fears were confirmed when she saw her teen stepdaughter emptying her stomach into the toilet. “Vanessa, tell me the truth,” Rebecca stared grimly into the girl’s eyes, “Have you been intimate with someone?
The story doesn’t end here — it continues on the next page.
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