My husband arrived at my door with my cousin, two babies, and a smug grin, declaring, ‘She lives here now.’ I handed him the keys, smiled back, and said “HOPE YOU ENJOY THE HOUSE UNTIL TOMORROW”

” she said. “Couldn’t keep up with the payments.”

“Where did she go?” I asked.

“Back to her mother’s place. With the babies.”

There was a pause.

Then, softer, “You okay?”

I thought about it.

About Lena sitting in a room that wasn’t hers, holding two children that tied her permanently to a man who had just lost everything he built.

“I am,” I said.

And I meant continue reading …