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My heart falls to my feet.
Tara.
Noah’s mother.
“Can I help you?” she asks.
“I’m so sorry.” I force a fake laugh. “You look like someone I used to know. It’s…uncanny.”
She shrugs. “I get that a lot. I must have that kind of face.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Well, have a good night.”
I don’t know what else to do or say in the moment, so I let her walk away and make my way back to Noah.
I give her a small nod. “It’s her.”
“I knew it.” Noah balls her hands into fists. “I’m so mad at him.”
“We need to go home and talk to him. See what he has to say.”
She shakes her head. “I refuse to go home. I can’t even look at him right now.”
I grip her shoulders. “We need to hear him out. Then you can yell and get mad and say whatever it is you want to say.”
“How are you so calm right now? He lied to you too.”
Sadness pricks my chest, but I push it aside for now. “Because I can’t get angry until I hear all the facts.”
“Nothing he says is going to make this okay.” A tear rolls down Noah’s cheek. “He said my mother was dead, but she’s standing right there, and I had to find out when I was with all of my friends. I had to pretend to get sick in the bathroom and tell them that my dad was coming to pick me up because I couldn’t face them and explain what was happening.”
Maybe talking to Grant when she’s this upset isn’t a good idea. If I can calm her down, maybe she’ll listen to reason later.
I pull her in for another hug as her arms lie limp at her sides. “Come on. I’ll take you to my house, and we can figure out what to do from there.”
I shoota text to Grant while I’m on the way home with Noah, but he calls me immediately.
She has her eyes closed with her head against the window, so I reject his call and type out a quick text when I get to a red light.
Me:Use my spare key under the mat and let yourself into my house.
Me: I have Noah but she’s very upset and she won’t come home if she knows you’re there.
Grant: What the fuck happened?
Me: Exactly what you’d think would happen when you lie to your daughter and tell her that her mother died when she’s actually alive.
I shovemy phone back into my purse and let out an exasperated sigh.
I’m angry, hurt, and confused…but it’s not about me right now. It’s about Noah. She’s old enough to understand this and if she wants to be mad at her father, she has every right to be. This kind of secret could break them.
I can’t let that happen.
I pull into my driveway a few minutes later and take Noah’s hand as I lead her into the house.
Grant rises from the couch in the living room as soon as the door clicks shut behind us.
