Karen stayed with her sister for four days, then returned to the Mercer house after her lawyer advised her not to abandon the marital property.
Daniel handled the situation the way only children can.
He blamed his father.
Then he blamed his mother for “not fighting harder.”
Then he apologized to both of them.
Then he stopped talking about it altogether.
I stayed out of it.
Or tried to.
Karen started texting me.
At first, the messages were innocent.
A picture of terrible diner coffee.
A joke about opening her imaginary bookstore.
A complaint about Daniel forgetting her birthday dinner reservation.
Then, one Thursday:
Are you awake?
It was 12:16 a.m.
Unfortunately.
I watched the typing bubble appear.
Disappear.
Appear again.
Finally:
I found out who she is.
My stomach dropped.
Do you want to talk?
Ten seconds later, my phone rang.
“Her name is Natalie,” Karen said without greeting me.
