It didn’t look like the scene of betrayal. It looked… inviting. Peaceful, even.
Still, I couldn’t breathe right. I parked down the street and waited. Twenty minutes passed. And then, I saw him.
He walked out of the yellow house holding the hand of a little girl—maybe two or three. Her curly brown hair was tied up in pink bows, and she was talking to him in that fast, excited toddler way only little kids have. Jake nodded as she spoke, smiling like everything she said mattered.
Then came more kids.
One had a Superman cape dragging behind him. Another was lugging a box of crayons almost too big for her arms. All of them surrounded Jake, talking, laughing, pulling at his sleeves.
Then I saw her.
A woman with kind eyes and soft gray curls tied in a loose bun stepped out onto the porch. She looked directly at me, smiled gently, and waved.
I didn’t know what to do. My world was in freefall—and yet, she looked at me like everything was okay.
She said something to Jake.
Continue reading…
