My daughter has a high fever and is in critical condition, but my
husband is attending a parents‘ meeting for his ex–girlfriend’s son.
Chapter 1
The day my daughter spiked a fever, Mark
was at a parent–teacher conference for his
“best friend’s” kid.
I called him, and she answered.
She was all weepy and apologetic, then Mark
snatched the phone. “They’re practically
orphans, okay? Is it a crime to help them
out?” He was annoyed.
I sighed. “Okay, fine.” I turned to my little girl,
Lily, getting a shot like a champ. “How about
Lily’s face was flushed from the fever. “Okay,
Mommy.” She gave me a weak smile.
“Good girl.” I kissed her forehead.
Then I called the school principal to talk
about transferring her to a new school.
The principal said it would take at least a
month.
No problem. I’d survived eight years of being
a single parent in a marriage. I could handle a
month.
Lily kept looking at the door with those big,
round eyes.
She didn’t say it, but I knew she was waiting
for Mark.
<
I called him again, just hoping he’d tell Lily
goodnight.
The phone rang forever. Finally, Mark answered, all icy and ticked off. “Sarah, I’m just at this kid’s parent–teacher conference. Do you have to call every five minutes?”
“And you lied about Lily being sick? That’s
low, even for you.”
I could hear a party going on in the
background. It was that Chuck E. Cheese Lily
had been begging to go to.
Mark always said he was too busy to spend
time with his own daughter.
Then I heard a little voice, clear as a bell:
“Daddy, why aren’t you eating?”
My hand shook, and I almost dropped the
phone.
Right then, Mark hung up.
He didn’t come home for a week.
I used to cry and scream, wondering if he was
at Carol’s place again.
But now? I didn’t even feel like calling him.
Then he showed up, storming through the
door.
“Did you forget to pack a lunch for little
Timmy all week?” he demanded.
“Just because you’re mad doesn’t mean you
can take it out on a kid. Carol can’t cook, so
く
I just stared at the floor.
Mark softened, squeezing my hand. “You
always wanted wedding pictures, right? If
you’d only be a little nicer…”
It was a joke. Eight years together, no wedding photos, no marriage license.
Right before we were supposed to get
married, Carol’s husband died and left her
with a one–year–old son.
She was devastated and went to the hospital.
Mark spent all his time taking care of her. He
didn’t have time for anything else, especially
not me.
Our wedding license expired, so it never
happened.
He thought he could bribe me with wedding
pictures, but I just stared blankly.
Things were getting tense when Lily’s teacher
called.
Lily was fighting at school.
I grabbed my purse and ran. Mark came with
me, all worried.
He pulled up in his black Hummer. I got in the
passenger seat without thinking.
Then I saw it.
A picture of Carol with the caption:
“Sweetheart’s Special Seat.”
Mark saw me looking at it, his face froze, and
L
He thought I was going to lose it like before,
but I just said, “Let’s go. Lily’s waiting.”
Mark studied my face for a long time, then
his lips tightened in a line.
I thought about the way he’d carefully folded
the sticker and stuffed it in his pocket, and I
felt sick to my stomach. Eight years wasted.
We got to the principal’s office, and this little
blonde kid was bawling his eyes out.
Lily stood there with messy pigtails and
heaving shoulders, crying silently.
That boy was Carol’s kid, Timmy.
Mark, being tall and quick, rushed into the
office basically blocking me
Lily saw Mark and lit up, then went to nug
him.
But Timmy got there first, throwing himself
into Mark’s arms.
Mark paused, then picked Timmy up and
started comforting him.
I clenched my fists and scooped up my baby
girl.
Timmy wrapped his arms around Mark’s neck
and whined. “Lily tried to take my cookies!
That’s why I hit her!”
“You’re lying! You stole mine!”
They started yelling again.
く
Mark rubbed his temples. “Is there any
video?”
“Yes, there’s video. It was just fixed!”
While the staff searched for footage, Timmy
looked around, his face pale.
Carol burst in, marched right up to Timmy,
and smacked him on the butt. “Don’t you ever
hit a girl! I’m a girl, and people hit me. It’s not
right.”
“You need to be kind and generous with
others!”
