His Other Wife by Deborah Bradford

the shoulder. “Go get it. It’s in the parking lot.”
    Seth didn’t move. “But what is it?”
    “That black Ford F-one-fifty over there.” Eric cuffed Seth’s shoulder again to fill in the awkwardness. “Not brand-new, of
     course, but it’s in great shape. Congratulations, Son. Pam and I are proud of you. We want you to enjoy this truck.”
    Hilary hadn’t even been breathing. How could they have done this without even asking her opinion? She felt like she’d been
     sucker punched.
    “It’s mine ?” Seth glanced in Hilary’s direction. She rearranged her face but not fast enough. She’d turned away, but she’d seen Seth
     catch her displeasure. Which irritated her even more. It wasn’t fair for Seth to get trapped in the middle of this. And that,
     she suddenly suspected, was the reason Pam must have encouraged Eric to do it this way, so Hilary couldn’t fight back.
    Seth’s friends had erupted. “Totally chron !”
    “Amazing!”
    “Emily, get over here and see this.”
    “I call shotgun.”
    “Word!”
    “Emhurst is a long way off,” Eric said. “And Springfield’s a big place. You’ll be needing something to get around.”
    “But it’s too much, Dad.”
    “It isn’t too much,” Eric argued. “After all, I’m your father.”
    Looking dumbfounded, Seth headed toward the parking lot. “It’s locked,” Pam called after him, the pride evident in her voice.
     “Punch the button on the key chain and the taillights flash.” Pam touched Eric’s sleeve. “Honey, go with him. Show him what
     he needs to do to get it started.”
    Hilary felt like she’d been trapped. “Your dad has a little money to go along with it,” Pam added. “We thought you could use
     a little help getting settled into your new place.”
    The school grounds were still packed with high-school graduates and their families. Pam and Hilary stood a distance apart
     from each other, their arms crossed, their eyes locked on the hoopla in the parking lot. “He’ll have to apply for a parking
     permit on campus, of course,” Pam said.
    Exhaustion swept over Hilary. She didn’t want to be bitter anymore. She longed to close off her heart and just feel nothing.
     But Seth was the only thing she had left of her family. She had only a few precious weeks left with him. A new truck? Offers
     of money? What were they doing, trying to buy her son from her? “Why didn’t you and Eric talk to me about this? How could
     you do this without discussing it with me?”
    “It didn’t seem like anything we needed to discuss.”
    “It isn’t? It’s a new truck , for heaven’s sake.”
    “It isn’t new ,” Pam reminded Hilary. Pam’s voice sounded as if Hilary were committing some major offense by questioning her.
    “You know what I mean,” Hilary said as the fever rose in her voice. “That isn’t the point.”
    “It’s just a graduation gift.”
    “No, Pam. It’s a little more than that. You should have warned me.”
    “Can’t you just relax and enjoy the moment?” Pam asked.
    Hilary had no practice at this. She was stepping into uncharted territory. Pam might as well be saying, Can’t you see that I’m better at this than you? “I’m sorry if we’ve put you on the spot,” Pam murmured in an undertone, as if she were confiding something Hilary couldn’t
     have known, something Hilary would rather other people didn’t hear. “We knew you couldn’t afford to do anything like this.
     Seth needed something dependable.”
    Dependable. The thought pounced on her like a cougar. She didn’t see it coming in time to push it away. Like the father he would have had if you hadn’t stolen him.
    Seth had climbed into the front seat of his new truck, his fingers gripping the steering wheel. Hilary saw Remy cupping his
     hands against the glass, trying to look in through the tinted window on the other side. Seth’s friends were drooling all over
     themselves!
    The dashboard sloped around Seth like the instrument