My Best Friend Slept With My Husband

She didn’t look calm anymore. Her hair was messy, and she was screaming before she even reached the porch.

She yelled, asking what I had done and claiming the bank had frozen her accounts. She slammed her handbag against my porch rail and screamed that I was ruining her life.

I stood in the doorway. I didn’t raise my voice.

“You forged my signature, Misty,” I said. “And your lawyer used a revoked notary stamp. The sheriff’s department already has the file.”

Misty’s face went white. She looked at her lawyer, who was standing by the car, looking down at his shoes.

She knew she was caught. She tried to tell me it was a misunderstanding, that she was just trying to help Toby, but I closed the door on her.

2 days later, Deputy Miller came to my house. He sat on the porch and drank sweet tea while Toby signed the official complaint. The deputy shook his head, telling me he had seen some bad cases over the years, but that this was the lowest.

Misty was arrested 2 days later at her apartment in Indianapolis. She was charged with bank fraud and identity theft.

Arthur Vance was arrested as an accomplice. Because she had a prior record, she is currently serving 4 years in a state facility.

Toby moved back into his old bedroom.

Yesterday, we sat on the porch. The afternoon sun was warm, and the tomatoes in the garden were finally turning red.

Toby was holding his grandfather’s silver pocket watch. He had cleaned the casing, and it was ticking steady and loud.

The trust fund is safe. It is still in the bank, waiting for Toby to start his classes at Purdue next month.

I water the tomatoes on the windowsill. The silver pocket watch is sitting on the counter, ticking steady and loud. The door is locked. And Toby is asleep in his old bed.