Page 147 of The Me I Left Behind

“Yes. He was only a couple of months old.”

Maggie thought back to that day. “Carol was shocked, of course. She told me the next day. Max told her not to tell me.”

“Oh, that was a horrible thing to do to her.”

“Yes, it was. But we got through it.”

“Do your other children know?”

She thought about Jason and Chloe, and how they’d been oblivious for so long. She was grateful for Lia and Alice and Julia, who were taking care of them this week at the Gull. What would she have done without those women in her life?

Did Lilly have women in her life to support her as well? She supposed Poppy was a tremendous support.

“They didn’t at first. They do now.” Suddenly, she didn’t want to belabor things. “But they are fine now, Lilly. I don’t want you to be concerned. Max was never the father he should have been to them. I don’t think he was capable. And I’m going to be honest when I say that little Leo is better off without him.” She met and held Lilly’s gaze. “And frankly, so are you.”

Lilly’s expression froze. “Did he ever hit you?”

She slowly nodded. “Yes. The last time he put me in the hospital.”

Lilly’s eyes closed. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “He grabbed me once, hard. Yelled and said terrible things. Threatened me. Scared the bull crap out of me. Then I found him with another woman at the condo.”

Maggie shook her head. “Lilly, that’s who Max Oliver was. He was only out for himself. Commitments were easy to break. All he really cared about was money and women. Lots of women.”

“I was so gullible,” Lilly said.

“Not as gullible as me. I agreed to all kinds of things I never should have.”

“How long were you together?”

“Twenty years.”

Lilly sighed.

Maggie set her cup aside and reached for her hands, clasping them and holding them within hers. “Lilly, you are young. I dare say you are not much older than Carol, which honestly surprised me when I first saw you… But now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense. Max liked young and vulnerable. Maybe you were easy to manipulate. I don’t know.” She looked deeper into Lilly’s eyes. “But I think you were stronger than he thought. Stronger than me at your age, I’m certain.”

“You’ve endured a lot. I think that makes you pretty strong.”

You have no idea the things I’ve endured…“Maybe so. I’m getting stronger.”

“So, we’re better off, eh?”

Maggie slowly nodded. “Wearebetter off. And Lilly? As strange as this may sound, we share a bond. And I want you to know that I am here for you, anytime.”

Tears formed in Lilly’s eyes. “An unlikely friendship?”

Smiling, Maggie held her hands tighter. She glanced inside the glass doors to where Carol and Leo played on the floor. “In an even weirder way, perhaps an unlikely family.”

They chatted for a while longer, sharing information, and then having sandwiches. Carol joined them after a while, and Poppy put Leo down for a nap. Before they finished lunch, Maggie pulled an envelope out of her bag.

“I have something for you.”

Lilly looked surprised. “I can’t imagine.”

Maggie sighed. “Max left a trust fund for his children, and that includes Leo. I asked the attorney for a copy of the trust fund information so you could have it, and I gave him your name. I can put you in touch with him, if you like. The fund goes to Leo at age twenty-one. The children will each get one-fourth of the funds. It’s one reason I wanted to come here, to give you this personally.”

Lilly shook her head. “But I told you I want nothing.”

“Exactly the reason you should take it. This is Leo’s future. If Max could give him anything, this is the best thing possible.