I immediately clicked through to her profile. I had to know how this Ella woman knew Sam, and why he’d never mentioned her.
The first thing I noticed was how beautiful she was. Her bright eyes sparkled with mischief, and her smile seemed to light up the whole screen.
Something about her was vaguely familiar, but I was certain I’d never met her. There wasn’t much information on her profile, so I started going through her posts.
Sam had liked and commented on practically every single one of her photos.
Lily bounced into the room then, her pigtails swinging. She peered at the screen, and her face lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Ella!” she squealed, pointing at the photo with sticky fingers.
“You know her?” My voice came out higher than usual, strained with forced casualness.
“Of course, silly! Don’t you? We see her all the time.” Lily started hopping from one foot to the other, unable to contain her excitement.
My stomach twisted into a knot so tight I thought I might be sick. “What do you mean, all the time?”
“Every Wednesday after school. Daddy picks me up, and we meet Ella.” Lily twirled around, completely oblivious to my growing distress. “She’s so much fun! We get ice cream, and sometimes we feed the ducks at the pond, but we use special duck food because Ella says bread isn’t good for them.”
She stopped spinning abruptly, her little hands flying to her mouth, eyes wide with sudden realization.
“Oh no. I wasn’t supposed to tell. Daddy said it was our special secret. He said sometimes grown-ups need to keep secrets to avoid hurting other grown-ups’ feelings.”
The word “secret” hit me like a punch to the gut. Special secrets with another woman? Teaching my daughter about ducks?
My mind raced through all the Wednesdays I’d worked late at the office, thinking Sam and Lily were having father-daughter time. Apparently, their special time together included a third member.
I forced myself to smile, not wanting to upset Lily. “It’s okay, sweetie. Why don’t you go play with your dolls? I think Princess Sparkles needs a tea party.”
After she skipped away, humming the theme song from her favorite cartoon, I sat there, staring at my phone until the screen went dark. My reflection stared back at me, and I barely recognized the worried woman I saw.
My husband had been meeting up with another woman behind my back. Even worse, he’d dragged our daughter into it. I couldn’t imagine my sweet, loving Sam having an affair, but what else could this be?
There was only one way I could know for sure.
Tomorrow was Wednesday. Instead of confronting Sam at home, where he could easily deflect or make excuses, I was going to catch him red-handed.
The next day, I called in sick to work for the first time in three years. Minutes before school came out, I parked across from Lily’s school to wait.
My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat as I watched Sam’s white car pull up. Through the windshield, I watched him checking his phone, probably texting her.
My daughter bounded out of the school building in her light-up sneakers, and Sam helped her into the car, checking twice to make sure her seatbelt was secure.
I followed them at a safe distance, gripping my steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned white. After a short drive, Sam parked at a park close to the school.
They settled on a bench near the playground, Lily swinging her legs while Sam checked his watch every few minutes. Ten minutes later, a car pulled up, and the woman from the Facebook photos stepped out.
And that’s when I realized who she was: Sam’s ex, his high school sweetheart. The one from his prom photos. My chest tightened as Lily ran to her with open arms, squealing, “Ella! Ella!”
Ella scooped her up, spinning her around while Sam watched, grinning like a teenager. When he walked over, he gave Ella a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek.
I felt sick. Memories of our family photos flashed through my mind. Had they all been lies?
Ella pushed Lily on the swing for a few minutes, then she took my daughter’s hand and the three of them headed to a café across the street. The same place where Sam and I always took Lily for a special day out.
I gave them a few minutes before following, my legs feeling like they were made of lead. Through the window, I watched them sit down together like a family. The pizza they must’ve ordered came out a few minutes later.
They laughed together as they ate, and the sickening sense of betrayal churning in my guts grew stronger with every passing minute.
Once they’d finished eating, Sam and Lily got up and went to the counter—probably to order dessert. Lily loved their hot fudge sundaes.
Ella now sat alone at their corner table, checking her phone, looking completely at home in our favorite café.
Perfect. The bell above the door chimed as I walked in. Ella didn’t look up until I was standing right in front of her, my shadow falling across her phone screen.
“Hi,” I said, my voice surprisingly steady. “I’m Sam’s wife.”
The color drained from her face. Her phone clattered onto the table. “I know,” she whispered.
“Sarah?” Sam’s voice cracked behind me.
I turned to see him standing there, his face pale. Lily clutched his leg, looking confused.
“Sit down,” Ella said quickly. “Please. This isn’t what you think.”
“What exactly should I think?” I asked, but I sat anyway, needing answers more than I needed to make a scene.
“Ella and I go way back. We dated in high school. She reached out to me on Facebook after she moved here a while back because… well, she should tell you herself.”
Ella nodded slowly. “I needed Sam’s help with an… unusual request.”
“My husband passed away last year,” she said. “We always wanted kids, but it never happened. I started thinking of adopting, but I was terrified I wouldn’t be good enough. I knew Sam was a father, so I reached out to him for advice.” She wiped her eyes. “He suggested spending time with Lily might help me figure out if I was ready.”
“We never meant to go behind your back,” Sam added. “I just didn’t know how to bring it up without it seeming weird.
“But now, thanks to Sam and Lily, I’m ready to take the next step.” Ella reached into her purse and pulled out a photograph. A little girl with bright eyes and braided hair smiled back at me. “This is Maya. She’s four, and she’s waiting for me in Arizona. I’m adopting her.”
“This is my last week here,” Ella added. “I’m moving to Phoenix on Saturday to be with Maya.” She reached across the table, hesitating before touching my hand. “I never meant to cause problems. Sam talks about you all the time, about what an amazing mother you are. I just hoped some of that magic might rub off on me.”
I studied their faces: Sam’s guilt, Ella’s tears, Lily’s confusion. The anger slowly seeped out of me. In its place came understanding, and maybe even a little compassion.
“No more secrets,” I said to Sam, who nodded vigorously.
“Never again,” he promised.
I looked at the woman across the table, seeing her now not as a threat, but as someone trying to find her way to motherhood, just like I had once done.
