That evening, I called our daughter.
Olivia answered on the fourth ring.
“Mom! I was just about to call you.”
Her cheerful voice nearly broke me.
“How was your morning?” she asked. “Did you go to the dentist?”
I sat at the kitchen table and looked at the empty chair across from me.
“Not yet, sweetheart. Something happened today, and I need to talk to you and your brother.”
Her tone changed immediately.
“Is everything okay?”
I took a breath.
“Your father and I are having serious problems. I found out that he has been seeing another woman.”
Silence.
Then a small, disbelieving sound.
“What?”
“I know this is difficult to hear.”
“How long?”
“Almost a year, according to her.”
Olivia did not speak for several seconds.
Then she whispered, “Does Dad know you know?”
“Yes.”
“Is he there?”
“No. He’s gone.”
I heard her take a shaky breath.
“Mom, I’m so sorry.”
