I cooked anyway.
Roast. Potatoes. Green beans.
At 5:40, Daniel arrived alone.
He stood beside me in the kitchen.
“You ready?”
“No.”
“Me neither.”
At six, Jenna arrived.
She kissed my cheek. “Hi, Carol.”
Mark came downstairs a few minutes later.
He saw Daniel.
Then Jenna.
Then me.
For one second, nobody spoke.
Something changed in his face.
He knew.
We sat down.
Nobody touched the food.
Jenna tried first.
“Okay. This is weird.”
Daniel looked straight at her.
“How long have you been sleeping with my father?”
No buildup.
No speech.
Jenna’s face emptied.
Mark immediately said, “Daniel—”
“No.”
Daniel didn’t raise his voice.
“I asked my wife.”
Jenna looked at me. Then Mark.
That was answer enough.
Daniel leaned back.
“Wow.”
“Daniel, please.”
“How long?”
She started crying.
“Please don’t do this like this.”
He laughed.
“How would you prefer I find out?”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
