I sat beside him.
“Greg, missing that doesn’t mean you want Michael and Emma to be children again.”
“I thought you’d think it was pathetic.”
He nodded.
“Do you?” I asked.
He looked almost offended.
“God, no. Michael once put a Lego in the toaster.”
That made me laugh.
Then Greg’s face softened.
“I just miss being the person somebody called when the dark felt too big.”
“God, no. Michael once put a Lego in the toaster.”
I thought of how often I’d answered him with logic. The children were independent and happy. That was what we’d raised them for. All true.
I just hadn’t realized he could be proud of that and still miss what came before it.
Still, I pointed toward the guest bed.
“This doesn’t excuse lying to me.”
I just hadn’t realized he could be proud of that and still miss what came before it.
Greg grinned.
“You let me think you were avoiding our bed.”
“I didn’t want you thinking I was crazy,” he muttered.
“I thought you were hiding something terrible, Greg.”
He winced.
“Fair.”
I looked at Susan.
“You were so worried about your sadness disturbing me that you let the secret disturb our marriage instead.”
“I thought you were hiding something terrible, Greg.”
He didn’t argue.
A tiny cry came from the box beside us.
Greg stood immediately.
I caught his wrist.
“Before you do anything else, we’re calling the rescue.”
He nodded.
“Okay.”
“Before you do anything else, we’re calling the rescue.”
***
By 4:30, the rescue’s emergency vet had checked both kittens. They were cold and hungry, but stable.
The volunteer at the desk recognized Greg immediately.
“Another one with a retirement-home name?”
I looked at Greg.
He sighed. “There was a Charlie.”
“Another one with a retirement-home name?”
Somehow, that told me six months of volunteering had contained even more secrets than I’d thought.
***
On the drive home, Greg finally texted Michael and Emma a picture.
Michael called within 30 seconds.
“Dad, why are there two kittens wrapped in my baby blanket?”
Michael called within 30 seconds.
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