HE WALKED INTO THE RESORT POOL AREA AND FOUND HIS WIFE IN ANOTHER MAN’S ARMS — THEN HER LOVER REPEATED THE STORY SHE HAD TOLD ABOUT THEIR MARRIAGE

EPILOGUE — THE PEAR TREE

By autumn, the breakfast nook still needed paint.
Andrew had stopped seeing the unfinished room as an accusation.
He and Hannah had separated and were working through the end of their marriage with help from their respective advisers.
They had agreed on what would happen to the house without turning the decision into a public contest.
Ethan had not contacted him again.
Andrew knew only that Hannah had corrected several of the stories she had told and that the people affected would decide for themselves what to believe next.
One evening, Andrew came home carrying a small bag of groceries.
The porch light Marcus had promised to leave on was glowing above the door.
Lillian was in the garden, examining the pear tree.
“It survived the broken branch,” she said.
Andrew put down the groceries.
“It did.”
“You should prune it before winter.”
“I know.”
His mother smiled.
“You always say that.”
They stood together beneath the leaves.
Andrew remembered how Hannah had once talked about growing old there.
The memory hurt, but it no longer made the whole yard unbearable.
Lillian reached for the grocery bag.
“What are you making?” she asked.
“Pasta.”
“Did you buy enough for two?”
Andrew opened the door.
“I bought enough for three,” he said.
“Marcus is coming over to help with the tree.”
His mother carried the bag inside.
Andrew stayed on the porch for another moment.
Then he followed her into the kitchen and turned on the light.

The End.