The House of Cards Falls
By 9:00 AM, the “breeze” of parenting had turned into a Category 5 hurricane. David missed his board meeting. Lisa’s boss was blowing up her phone.
“Where is she?! This is irresponsible!” David screamed, throwing a cereal box across the counter.
He checked the GPS tracker he’d secretly put on my phone. The dot was moving. Away from the city. Toward the coast.
I felt light. I felt free. I felt like a woman who was finally being paid in peace.
They had to call an emergency sitter. The sitter cost $35 an hour. They had to pay upfront. David’s “you’re owed nothing” was starting to feel very, very expensive.
Emma was crying. “I want Nana! She leaves me notes! You don’t leave me notes!”
Then, the first text from David arrived. It wasn’t an apology. It was a command. “Get back here now. You’re ruining our careers.”
