Page 37 of When People Leave

Abby

T hat evening, Abby stood in the shower, enjoying the warm water running down upon her.

What she loved most was not hearing a herd of little fists banging on the door.

She missed her family but couldn’t help appreciating the time she had to concentrate on herself.

It had been six years since she’d had a full night’s sleep without someone’s feet kicking her in the stomach.

And when was the last time she could have a conversation on the phone without it being grabbed out of her hands to play Kids Doodle?

She had convinced herself that harmless flirting with Greg fell into self-care. While she took the time to shampoo her hair and scrub her scalp, she thought about her life.

I’ve been only a wife and mother for so long; I deserve to feel like a woman again . Does that make me ungrateful when I’ve been blessed with a loving husband and four adorable children?

She applied a hair mask and sat on the bench in the shower to wait five minutes for it to work. Maybe my family have been happier without me. I wonder if they miss me. Alex is probably a better mother than I am. Geez, I gave up everything for kids who don’t even care that I’m gone.

Abby shook her head, trying to ward off these thoughts.

Then she washed the mask off, not waiting for the full five minutes.

She turned off the faucet, rubbed the water out of her eyes, and stepped out of the shower.

Soaking wet, with a towel wrapped around her, she went into her bedroom not caring that she had been dripping water onto the carpet.

She was about to reach for her clothes when her phone rang.

“Hey you,” Alex said.

Why does he sound so relaxed? I never sound that mellow when I’m at home.

“Hi,” Abby said.

“How are things going with my beautiful wife?”

“Pretty much the same since we spoke last night.”

“I know you have a lot to process.”

Abby hit the speaker button and grabbed her PJ shirt and panties.

“How’re the kids?” she asked.

“They’re good. We found our rhythm, and everything’s going smoothly now.”

“Really,” her voice was almost monotone. “I guess that’s good.” Abby got her shirt on, but when she went to put her panties on, they fell behind the bed.

“You don’t need to worry about us,” he said.

Abby felt tears come to her eyes. I was right, they don’t need me, they’re doing fine without me. “Okay, well, I’m glad you checked in,” she said, trying to reach behind the bed, but she couldn’t quite grasp her panties.

Then she heard a clatter as something hit the floor. Alex was swearing, his voice suddenly sounding far away. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“Hudson, don’t do that!” Alex said. “Levi, give me back my phone!”

The sounds in the background got louder, then softer, and then loud again. “Hello? Alex?” Abby yelled.

“Give it to Daddy now!” Alex said. “Abby? Are you still there?”

“Yes, what happened?”

“Hudson rolled his toy dump truck in front of me, and I tripped and dropped my phone, and the screen cracked. Then Levi swooped in and grabbed it.” Alex said, huffing and puffing as if he had fought off a bull.

“Is that Mommy?” Hudson and Levi asked.

“Yes,” Alex said.

“Mama!” Abby recognized Emma’s voice.

“We want to talk to her!” Hudson said.

“Okay, give me a second,” Alex said.

Alex put the phone on speaker. “Mommy! We miss you so much,” the kids yelled.

“Oh, my babies, I miss you too,” Abby said, almost laughing out loud. Even though they weren’t on FaceTime, out of habit, Abby grabbed the towel from the floor and held it up to her body. She was still naked from the waist down.

“Daddy doesn’t know how to sing the ‘Baby Shark’ song,” Levi said.

“And he doesn’t make macaroni and cheese the way we like it,” Hudson said.

“I want a hug,” Addison said.

The smile on Abby’s face was brighter than the neon lights on the Las Vegas strip.

“I love you all so much,” Abby said.

“Okay, let me finish talking to Mommy, and then I’ll read you all a story,” Alex said.

“Bye, Mommy,” Addison said.

“Come home,” Hudson said.

“Hold on,” Alex said, taking her off speaker.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?”

“I didn’t want to burden you with how much we need you here,” Alex said.

“I’m glad I know. Thank you for giving me this time, though.”

“I love you. Take all the time you need. Well, maybe not all of it.” Alex laughed. “Now I get how much easier my job is than yours.”

“I appreciate you saying that,” Abby said.

“Thank you for all you do.”

“I love you,” Abby said, then noticed that a text from Greg came across the screen of her phone. She quickly swiped up to get rid of it, as if Alex could see it from where he was. “Should I come home for a quick visit?” she asked.

“That’ll be harder on the kids when you leave again. We’re fine, don’t worry.”

“You’re the best,” Abby said.

“I do miss cuddling with you, though.”

“Me too.” Abby got down on her hands and knees and retrieved her panties. “Finally!” she said.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said as she slipped them on.

“I better go, honey,” he said. “I need to go read to the animals in our zoo.”

When they hung up, Abby clicked on the text from Greg.

Hey Kelsey, I missed talking to you today. Let’s find a time to meet again in person. I can come there if that works for you.

Abby held her finger over the keypad for a moment. Greg, you were the perfect distraction I needed from my real life—one I could easily continue. She shook her head. But it’s not worth the risk. I’d be giving up too much. She found Greg in her list of contacts, blocked him, and deleted his number.