The Night Before Our First Family Vacation, Everything Unexpected Happened

I photographed everything and shared it with our families before he could stop me. His anger rose; mine stayed cold and steady. I gathered my daughters and left that night for my mother’s house.

Later, I called the woman who had warned me. She explained she worked at a medical supply store and had sold him the cast. Something about his casual plan to escape his wife and children had unsettled her enough to track me down.

I thanked her, realizing how deliberate his deception had been. He hadn’t just lied about an injury. He had created an exit from our marriage without ever walking out the door.

And now, everyone could see it.