Chapter 11 - Andrew
Vanessa’s ex-husband contacted me unexpectedly.
I almost did not answer.
He said:
“I heard about the vase.”
“How?”
“Vanessa asked me for provenance paperwork.”
Of course.
Andrew was forty.
Precise.
The sort of man who used the word pursuant in ordinary emails.
He said:
“I need to clarify something.”
“Okay.”
“I told Vanessa eight thousand during the divorce because my mother originally represented it to me as an expensive antique.”
“So everybody just guessed?”
“That is a humiliatingly accurate summary.”
I laughed.
First time the vase made me laugh.
Andrew continued:
“Vanessa and I had a bad marriage.”
“I know.”
“She started using money as a scoreboard during it.”
I bristled.
“I’m not interested in you blaming her for everything.”
“Good. I’m not innocent.”
Better.
He explained.
Early marriage:
Andrew earned more.
Paid more.
Vanessa hated feeling dependent.
Then her design-consulting business grew.
She became financially independent.
By the final years, they competed.
Trips.
Furniture.
Whose client mattered.
Who paid.
When the divorce happened, household objects became trophies.
The vase’s inflated valuation survived because neither wanted to admit they had fought over something ordinary.
May you like
That pattern did not begin with Caleb.
The child just collided with it.
