Chapter 13
+15 Bonus
Thanks to the release of this footage, the public’s opinion of Zachary improved. Some thought he had merely been hoodwinked by Gigi. They even considered him a fellow victim.
I saw their comments, and they made me laugh.
I didn’t know if Zachary was purposely trying to achieve something. Nevertheless, neither
John nor I—not even Marie—would forgive him.
Gigi was deplorable, but Zachary was far more reprehensible. He was part of our family. He should’ve been on our side, but he wasn’t. There was no way for such hurt to ever be forgotten.
No one showed up on the day of Zachary’s sentencing. It served as a kind of punishment for him as well. Later on, I heard from John that Zachary took his own life while in prison. With his dying breath, he continued to apologize to Marie, John, and me.
Once I heard that he was dead, the last of my anger dissipated. I still resented him, of course. How could I not? I resented him for betraying me and our marriage, for not trusting
me, and for indirectly causing Marie’s death as well.
We never did file for divorce. I became a widow, and I inherited nearly all of Zachary’s
assets.
I went back to our marital home and found the jar Marie had brought over. Zachary had finished all of the pickles Marie made, even though it had started to turn bad after being
left out in the heat for some time.
As I washed the jar, I thought about what must’ve been going through Marie’s mind when
she came over to see Zachary with the jar in hand. How did she feel when she left after seeing that I was alone in the house again?
The jar wasn’t just an ordinary jar. It represented a mother’s love that had been ignored
and
gone unappreciated by her son.
1/2
Chapter 13
+15 Bonus
I carefully wiped the jar dry and put it away in a box.
I never told anyone, but when I went to Marie’s house to organize her things, I saw the
pastry dough and filling she had prepared. Thus, I formed them into pastries myself and
ate them.
I got to eat the pastries Marie made after all. Filled with her love, they tasted like heaven to
- me.
