I hung up and pulled out of the driveway.
“Go get Liz,” I said. “Right now. Pick her up from the house.”
***
An hour later, I walked back into my house carrying a small gift box with a ribbon on it.
Jenna was in the kitchen. The house was quiet, and Liz’s shoes were gone from the mat.
“Honey, you’re home!” Her whole face lit up when she saw the box. “Is that for me?”
“It’s for you.”
I handed it over. She took it with both hands, delighted, like a kid at a birthday party.
An hour later, I walked back into my house carrying a small gift box
She pulled off the ribbon and lifted the lid.
Her smile didn’t fade so much as fall off, like a picture dropping from a wall.
Inside the box sat a plastic key card, white with a green stripe. The name of a motel was printed across it.
“What is this?”
“It’s a room,” I said. “I booked it for five nights. Liz is coming home tonight. You won’t be here.”
She pulled off the ribbon and lifted the lid.
She laughed once, a short sharp bark. “I don’t understand. Is this a joke?”
