“He’s just sad.”
But late at night, when I lay alone in our bed, Louise’s last words started echoing in my head. So one morning, after another night when John hadn’t come home, I sat at the kitchen table staring at my coffee after dropping the kids off at school. I felt something settle inside me, a hard resolve.
I grabbed my keys, including the one Louise had given me, and drove toward the old property. The house sat nearly an hour away. I expected peeling paint, broken windows, and weeds taller than the porch.
Instead, when I turned down the long gravel road, I nearly drove off it! A tall wooden fence surrounded the property. Beyond it stood a brand-new, luxurious house with fresh siding and wide windows.
It didn’t look abandoned. It looked lived in. Music floated over the fence.
Children’s laughter followed. The smell of barbecue drifted through the air. My chest tightened.
I parked closer to the fence, but I couldn’t see much through it. Then I heard a voice that I recognized as John’s. It was clear, warm, and happy.
“Soon I’ll tell her,” he said. “Don’t worry. This will be over, and I’ll stay here forever!”
The words hit me like ice water.
Tell her? Stay here forever?
My hands shook. My mind filled in the worst possible picture.
Another woman. Another life. Children who called him Dad.
Louise knew.
That was the “truth” she couldn’t carry anymore. I stepped out of my car, and my legs nearly gave out. The gate to the yard hadn’t been renovated yet, but I didn’t need the key from my MIL because it wasn’t even locked.
My heart pounded loudly as I walked into the yard, slipping the rusty key into my pocket. I expected to see John with his arms around another woman from his perfect, secret life. Instead, I saw five children!
They were scattered across the yard. One boy kicked a soccer ball. Two girls sat at a picnic table, drawing with chalk.
A toddler chased bubbles near the deck. I froze. Before I could make sense of it, I spotted a woman reclining on a pool chair near a small above-ground pool.
She wore a tank top and jeans. She looked relaxed, as if she belonged there. Anger surged through me again.
I marched toward her. John stepped out from the side of the barbecue stand at that exact moment. When he saw me, his face drained of color.
“Emma?” he said sharply. “What’re you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” I shot back. “What are you doing here, John?”
He moved toward me quickly.
“Please, let’s just talk.”
I shoved past him. The children had stopped playing. They stared at us.
The toddler started crying. I pointed at the woman by the pool. “Do you know you’re dating a married man?
His mother just died!”
The woman’s eyes widened. She sat up straight. “Excuse me?”
Before she could say anything else, John stepped between us.
“Oh, I’m scaring them?” I let out a broken laugh. “You told them you’d stay here ‘forever.’ Is that the plan? Just replace us?”
The boy with the soccer ball started crying.
One of the girls covered her ears. “Please,” John said quietly. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said.
“You made your choice.”
“It is! I’m ashamed to be your wife!”
His jaw tightened. “Don’t say that.”
“You said you’d stay here forever.
Fine. Stay. Don’t come back home.”
I turned and walked out of the yard.
I didn’t look back. I drove home in silence, my thoughts loud enough to drown out everything else. When I reached our house, I slammed the door behind me and leaned against it.
The quiet felt heavy. I looked up at the ceiling and whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me? Why would you protect him instead of me?”
