All Chapters of After the Divorce, I Returned to the Track: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

My father asked me to meet him at a members-only club in San Francisco. I'd been coming here ever since I was 17. The receptionist still recognized me, took my coat, and called me Mrs. Holt, as always."Grant," I corrected softly. "Ms. Grant is fine."My father was sitting by the window with a few project reports spread out on the table. He didn't bother asking how I was doing. He went straight to the business partnership between our families, saying I couldn't ruin it over my personal feelings."You're an adult, Erin. You have to consider the consequences of your decisions." He pushed a sheet of paper over to me. "Word of the separation has already reached our partners. Let this divorce go.""Adam's business decisions aren't going to change because of where I live.""That's not how people will see it. The Holt family's former daughter-in-law running off to play with race cars? Do you know how much gossip that's going to stir up?""Then let them talk."My father tapped his fingers on t

An old coworker forwarded me the invitation to the foundation's anniversary celebration.On the first page of the draft was a photo of Adam and me at a charity gala a few years ago. Under the picture, it said, "Co-founded by Mr. and Mrs. Holt." The schedule on the second page even included a slot for my speech. I'd never accepted the invitation, and I certainly wasn't going to let anyone put me on stage as his wife.I called the head of PR, who was stunned. "Helen Holt told us you're still part of the Holt family. We included the photo out of respect.""Then respect my decision and leave me out of it," I said firmly. "Please remove my picture and my name and update your files."Helen called right after. "Erin, people don't know where the divorce stands yet. Taking down the photo now will only get everyone guessing.""We're separated. That's a fact. The divorce is moving forward, and you know that perfectly well.""There will always be a place for you. Putting you in the promotional mat

On Thursday, a letter from Noah arrived. When the mail carrier pushed the envelope through the slot in the door, Chestnut heard it before I did and wouldn't stop barking.The envelope said "To Mom" in letters of all different sizes, and in a few places, he'd erased so hard the paper was nearly worn through. The letter was only one page, and it started, "Mom, there's something I'm too scared to tell you to your face."He wrote that on his birthday, he really wanted to stand next to Dad, Grandma, and Vera, because he thought the picture would look impressive that way. He figured I'd quietly go take care of other things, as always, and come back smiling as if nothing had happened. Then Dad forgot his medicine, missed a notice from school, couldn't figure out the sailboat tools, and got corrected by the instructor. Only then did Noah realize someone had always taken care of all that ahead of time.The last sentence had been crossed out again and again and rewritten. "On my birthday, I said

Adam was the one who called to tell me Noah had gotten hurt.I'd just finished rehab, and when I heard him say conditions on the water had suddenly worsened, I almost dropped my water bottle. But Adam quickly explained everything. The instructor had followed safety rules and brought the boat back early. When Noah was getting off, the sudden downpour startled him, and he missed his step and hurt his knee. He'd already been checked at the medical station. The injury was minor. He hadn't fallen in the water, and he hadn't hit his head."I'm right here with him," Adam said. "The medical staff already took care of the wound. You don't need to rush. I'll send you the location."I asked whether Noah needed more tests and whether he could talk normally. Once I had the answers, I pulled over to the side of the road, took a few deep breaths, and followed the GPS to the harbor.On the way, countless memories came flooding back. When Noah used to get a fever, Adam would ask me where the thermomete

Noah's school was planning to start a new youth sailing course in partnership with the foundation. When the staff sent the materials to the parents, they accidentally put my name in the caption of a family promo photo.Before I could even reply to the email, Adam called. "They put your name in the promo copy. I already had someone take it out. The corrected version is going out today.""Who asked for my name to be added?""My mother. She thought since the divorce wasn't final yet, using an old family photo for promotion wasn't a big deal."He didn't use Helen's good intentions as an excuse, and he didn't ask me to cut his mother some slack. I opened the new email. The promo photo had been removed, Noah's enrollment was still in place, and in the parent contact section, my number and Adam's were listed side by side."Noah can still take the class as usual, right?" I asked."Of course. He really loves the class. There's no reason to take it away from him just because we don't like that p