Out in the Open (14/19)
Julliet spoke softly and calmly, “For quite some time now, I have known something was going on. Your father would often come home much later than usual, and his behaviour changed, too. He was suddenly buying new clothes and using products in his hair…”
“I noticed that!” Esme interrupted, “I just figured it was part of some midlife crisis thing.”
Julliet nodded, “So did I at first, but something wasn’t adding up. Two weeks ago, while he was in the shower, a message came in on his phone. I noticed it by accident; it was from ‘Linda’, and she said, ‘Have you figured out an excuse for your wife? I can’t wait to see you.’” Julliet shook her head, “Those words have been dancing in my brain ever since I saw them…” She bit her lip and then continued, “So, when he got out of the shower, I confronted him about it. We had a fight because he felt I shouldn’t be looking at his phone, which, of course, wasn’t the issue here. He denied Linda was anything more than an acquaintance, but as time went by and we had more discussions about this, eventually he had no choice but to admit the truth; Linda is someone he’s met through work and…” Julliet paused and closed her eyes. It was clear she was fighting back a lot of pain and sadness. “…they have fallen in love and want to be together…” A tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke these words.