“This assignment will secure our future.”
I searched his face for some indication that he understood what he was asking.
We were both fifty-three, and we had spent years discussing the quieter life we intended to enjoy together.
Now he expected me to celebrate four years of separation.
Before I could answer, my mother-in-law pushed back her chair.
“Finally, someone recognizes my son’s talents.”
Teresa Hayes was seventy-six, perfectly capable of managing her affairs, and extraordinarily talented at making everyone around her miserable.
Her husband, Walter, sat beside her, silently cutting his roast chicken.
“And naturally, Walter and I will move into this house while David is away,” Teresa announced.
I stared at her.
“Move into my house?”
She gave me the cold smile I had endured since our wedding.
“A proper daughter-in-law doesn’t abandon elderly parents.”
David squeezed my hand.
“It makes sense, sweetheart.”
I looked around the dining room I had paid for long before meeting him.
