When my grandchildren ran towards me, I held each child so tightly that Noah complained.
“We’re fine, Grandma.”
The lady drove away immediately.
She didn’t even step out of her car.
I was so focused on seeing if my grandchildren were okay that I didn’t get time to see what she looked like.
Sophie had a photograph in her hand.
“The lady said to give you this.”
Emily was pictured outside a cafe, smiling beside a woman whose face had been cut away.
On the back were four words in Emily’s handwriting.
“Please don’t tell Marcus.”
Before my son could take the photograph, Noah grabbed my sleeve.
“The lady said Daddy would get really angry if we told him.”
Then Sophie produced an envelope addressed to me.
I started opening it.
Marcus caught my wrist. “Mom. Don’t.”
His grip wasn’t painful, but his expression frightened me.
“Let go,” I said.
