“Leaving where?”
She zipped the suitcase.
“With Julian.”
I stared at her.
For several seconds, the only sound in the room was rain tapping against the window.
“You mean your boss?”
She finally looked at me.
“Yes, David. My boss.”
“How long?”
She crossed her arms.
“What difference does it make?”
“How long have you been seeing him?”
She sighed as if I were an inconvenience.
“Months.”
I felt the room tilt.
Months.
While I had been working overtime, paying bills, changing diapers, and trying to keep six little girls happy, she had been building another life with another man.
“Does he know about the girls?” I asked.
“Of course he knows.”
“And he’s fine with you leaving them?”
Her expression hardened.
“Don’t start.”
“I’m asking you a question.”
“He understands me. He understands what I want.”
I looked toward the hallway.
Maya was asleep in her crib. The triplets were watching television downstairs, and Stella was helping Chloe with a school project.
