“Your mother?”
“Don’t make this about her.”
“She was wearing my robe while you locked me out of my home.”
“She thought we were separating.”
“Why?”
He looked confused.
“Because I told her.”
PART 3 — THE PLAN I WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO FIND
“You told your mother we were separating?”
“I told her things were bad.”
“How long ago?”
“A few weeks.”
He had been telling his mother our marriage was collapsing. And he never told me.
“That,” I said slowly, “might be the thing I understand least.”
Michael pulled out the chair across from me.
“I tried talking to you.”
“No. You complained about my hours.”
“You brushed it off.”
“Because I thought we were discussing my schedule. I didn’t know you were questioning the marriage.”
“You never had time.”
I managed compliance projects for a health-care company, and after a merger in the spring, I became responsible for twice the workload with the same team. Worked through birthdays. Three months earlier, Michael had planned an anniversary dinner. We ate sandwiches at home. I had apologized. Michael had said it was fine.
