Chapter 3
I barely slept.
By morning, I had read Sarah’s message to the travel agent so many times I knew every word. She had asked whether I would be notified, and the agent had told her the primary email on the reservation would receive an update.
Sarah had changed that email to hers first.
At Naomi’s office, I showed her the thread. She read it without interrupting, then saved a copy with the booking records.
“This establishes that she meant to keep the cancellation from you,” Naomi said.
I watched rain move down the office window. “I trusted her with Lily.”
“You acted when you learned what happened.”
“That doesn’t erase the three weeks before it.”
“No,” Naomi said gently. “It doesn’t.”
We discussed a separation. Naomi explained the steps for ending the marriage, protecting my finances, and arranging a time to collect our things from the house. She advised me to communicate with Sarah in writing for now.
I had questions about the house, but first I called Lily’s school. Sarah was on the approved pickup list. I asked the office to remove her. The secretary said she needed me to come in with identification and sign a new form.
I drove there straight from Naomi’s office.
Lily was in class, and I hadn’t intended to disturb her. But as I left the office, I saw her through the window of the art room. She was sitting with two other children, painting a bright red bird.
For one moment, she looked like herself.
Then she looked up and saw me.
Her brush stopped. She gave me a small wave, as if checking whether I was still there.
I waved back and waited until she returned to her painting.
At noon, Sarah sent a message.
I made a terrible mistake. Bring Lily home. We can apologize and still take a trip next month.
I wrote back that Lily and I were staying with Mom and that Naomi would contact her about the separation.
Sarah called five times. I did not answer.
That afternoon, I went to the house with Naomi’s assistant, Marcus, who had offered to witness the pickup of our belongings. Sarah had agreed by text to let me collect Lily’s clothes and school things.
Ben opened the front door.
He looked exhausted. “Mom went to her sister’s.”
I kept my voice calm. “She knew I was coming?”
“She told me to let you in.”
Marcus waited in the entryway while I went upstairs. Lily’s room still had paper stars above the bed. Her beach dress hung from the closet door. Sarah must have taken it out of the suitcase after we left the airport; the suitcase was at Mom’s, and the dress had been hanging here when we packed.
I touched the fabric. I remembered Lily turning in front of the mirror while Sarah told her the color suited her.
Ben stood in the doorway.
“I want to tell Lily I’m sorry,” he said.
“She needs a little time.”
“I know.”
I folded the dress and set it in a bag.
Ben looked at the paper stars. “Mom said Lily would have more fun at your mother’s. I believed her.”
“You didn’t make the booking.”
“I should’ve asked Lily.”
“You can ask her how she feels when she’s ready.”
He nodded. His eyes followed me as I packed.
I took Lily’s school clothes, her favorite books, and the small stuffed fox she had slept with since she was little. In my bedroom, I packed a few things for myself.
On my desk was the framed photograph from our wedding. Lily and Ben stood in front of us, both grinning. Lily was missing a front tooth.
I left it where it was.
Before we went, Ben stopped me by the stairs. “Are you leaving me too?”
The question struck hard.
“I’m moving out because of what happened with Sarah,” I said. “I’m still here if you need to talk.”
“Mom said you only cared about your own kid.”
I looked at him. “I care about both of you. Lily is the child I’m responsible for protecting.”
He thought about that, then stepped aside.
Outside, Marcus helped me carry the bags to the car. Sarah pulled into the driveway before we could leave.
She got out and looked at the bags.
“You brought someone to watch me?”
“I brought someone to help.”
Her eyes found Lily’s dress at the top of a bag. “She’s still my daughter.”
I took a breath. “Lily loved you. Right now, she needs space.”
Sarah’s face changed. For a second I thought she might say something honest.
Instead she pointed at Marcus. “You’ve been telling strangers about our family.”
“Naomi needs the facts,” I said.
“Naomi,” Sarah repeated bitterly. “So you really are doing this.”
“Yes.”
Ben was watching from the doorway. Sarah glanced at him, then lowered her voice.
“You can’t break up this family over a plane ticket.”
I put the last bag in the trunk.
“It was Lily you left behind,” I said.
As we drove away, I saw Ben still standing at the door. He raised his hand. I raised mine.
That night, Lily asked to call him.
They spoke for only a minute. I heard her say, “I know you didn’t know.”
Afterward, she handed me the phone.
“He sounded sad,” she said.
“I think he is.”
She climbed into bed with her stuffed fox.
“Can I still be his sister if you and Sarah split up?”
I sat beside her. “You and Ben can decide what you mean to each other. You don’t have to decide tonight.”
Lily nodded, but I could see another question forming.
“What about Sarah?”
May you like
Before I could answer, my phone lit up with a message from her.
If Lily tells anyone what happened, I’ll tell them how difficult she has always been.
