evada desert and how much he missed me. He dropped his duffe

my cheek. He pulled back, a f

hing oka

y looked at him, for the first time in a long

ek on Saturday," I

ack, wider this time, but it didn't reach his eye

tar family." I let the words hang in the air

me and took a step back, running a hand throug

r, Matt, was in my unit. Died in Afghanistan. I try to check in on h

me you were

nstead of fly. I stopped by on my way home to help her fix a leaky faucet.

noble soldier, fulfilling a sacred duty. It

her son, Mike. She was washing yo

. I feel sorry for him." He tried to reach for me again. "And the clothes... I was hel

by brick to hide the truth. But I had

d, my voice dangerously

"I don' t know. F

"He just turned five. His

k finally cracking. He kne

oy was born a year after our wedding. Your 'chec

undeniable. The betrayal wasn't a recent m

as right after Matt' s funeral. We were both a mess. It only happened on

ng, that a cold anger washed over m

child isn' t from 'once,' Mike. And

moved, the slight swell of her stomach I hadn' t

ning and closing like a fish.