Hardship Taught Me Well

Gavin and I grew up in the same orphanage.

He was proud and soft-spoken, constantly targeted by bullies, so for thirteen long years I stood up for him.

At eighteen, we quietly fell in love.

I gave him a pair of clay figurines I sculpted by hand, and we made a vow to stay together as long as the figurines remained intact.

At twenty-three, we decided to get married and buy a place to call our own.

To realize our shared dream, I went overseas to work for five years, wiring every single cent I earned back to him.

Finally, six months ago, Gavin told me he had saved enough money to buy the house we had been eyeing.

The day I saw the deed, I was picking cherries on a farm half a world away.

I was working nine and a half hours a day, my skin peeling off my sunburnt face, yet my heart brimmed with sweetness.

Once the harvest season ended, I couldn’t wait another second. I bought a plane ticket and flew home to surprise him.

I never expected to be at the other end of the surprise.

The woman, Chloe Lynch, stepped aside with warm hospitality, gesturing for me to come in.

Their wedding photo hung on the wall, the sofa matched the exact design I had picked out, and children’s clothes were left out to dry on the balcony.

Chloe set the little boy down and grabbed a pair of bunny slippers.

“Here, wear these. Gavin just bought them.

“He keeps saying I remind him of a kiddo, so he’s always buying me these childish things.

“I hope you don’t mind, Ms. Stone.”

Her voice was soft and gentle as she shared a sweet triviality in the blissful life they shared.

“Mommy! Where’s the toy Daddy got me? I can’t find it anywhere!

“He promised he’d play with me once he got back from his work trip.”

The boy tugged at her sleeve, peppering her with questions while glancing at me with curious eyes.

“Lady, are you really good friends with my daddy?”

Gazing at his features that mirrored Gavin’s so strikingly, it suddenly came back to me that Gavin and I once had a child too.

Because I had to go work abroad and we couldn’t afford to keep it, I had the baby aborted.

My vision blurred for an instant before I nodded, forcing a single word past my tight throat.

“Yeah.”

Chloe smiled and patted the child’s head.

“Alright now, let Mommy talk to our guest. Go play in your room.”

The boy nodded and scampered happily back into his bedroom.

My eyes tracked his departing figure, then shifted from the maternal glow on Chloe’s face down to her lower abdomen.

“How far along are you?” I asked.

She blinked, resting a hand on her belly.

“Four months.”

Four months...

I repeated the words in a hushed murmur.

Four months ago, I was still in Silveridge, right when the blueberries ripened.

I left home at five in the morning and worked fourteen hours a day, pushing through exhaustion and finger cramps, not daring to take a break.

I wanted to earn extra money to buy a new sofa for our future home.

“This sofa...”

“Gavin bought it. He felt bad that my pregnancy was giving me a hard time, so he got me something comfortable.

“Do you like this set too? I can ask Gavin to send you the link.”

Chloe looked at me with a sweet, amiable smile.

My reply almost choked in my throat.

“Oh no, it’s fine...”