“Three days ago,” she started to say. “I saw him. I saw Nate in your bedroom with a woman.”
“What?” I whispered again.
“I heard voices upstairs,” she said. “But I forgot that you and the kids were gone. So, I thought that it was the kids playing. I just wanted to see what they were doing.”
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
Nate shifted uncomfortably.
“Claire, she’s confused. You know how your mom is. She’s probably remembering something from years ago…”
But Mom shook her head, her eyes wide and wild.
“No! I saw you! And I asked you to explain yourself. You tried to make me feel like I was stupid, Nathan! And you said that the woman was a homeless person who you were helping out for the night. Which homeless person wears red-bottomed shoes? And you told me to get out!”
“Mom, what do you mean he told you to get out?” I asked.
“I didn’t know where I was!” she cried, tears now spilling down her face. “He told me that I didn’t live there. That I lived with you and the kids, and this wasn’t your home! He said I had to leave. I thought he was right… I was terrified.”
The living room was silent, save for Mom’s ragged breathing.
A crying older woman | Source: Midjourney
The officers shifted, awkward and unsure, and then one of them cleared his throat.
“Ma’am, do you remember where you went after that?” he asked.
She shook her head, the light from her eyes dulling a bit. Her moment of lucidity was leaving slowly.
“I walked away. I just opened the door and walked away…”
An older woman walking out of a front door | Source: Midjourney
I felt dizzy, my pulse pounding in my ears. I turned to Nate, my mouth dry.
“Nate, tell me she’s not… tell me that this didn’t happen!”
He raised his hands.
