She wasn’t just afraid of her own story repeating.
I took a breath.
“I need you both to go. Please.”
Then I looked at Wade. “I need time.”
He didn’t argue.
I reached for the folder containing the divorce checklist. I’m going to need it.
"But I should’ve put you first.”
***
The next morning I read every letter again. Then I called my aunt Carol, Mom’s sister.
“Oh, honey,” she said. “I wondered when this would come out.”
She confirmed it. Thomas had tried for years.
“But he gave up too, Em. Both things are true.”
Then I drove to my mom’s house.
“I only wanted to protect you,” she started.
“I wondered when this would come out.”
“He betrayed you, Mom. But you taught me to believe he never loved me.”
She was quiet.
“It hurt to watch you light up when he came,” she said finally. “He got to take you for ice cream and bring you presents. I got to work, pay the bills, and explain why Daddy wasn’t coming home.”
