After 14 years of marriage and three kids, I never suspected my husband Chad had secrets. Until I found a second phone tucked away in his gym bag.

It was locked. But when it buzzed, the notification flashed: “CAN’T
WAIT TO SEE YOU AGAIN TONIGHT.

I felt my heart stop. I waited until he got home, placed the phone on the table, and said, “Unlock it.”

His hands shook as he reached for it. “It’s not what you think…” he began, but I was not buying it.

“Unlock it now, and I’ll get to decide that,” I said.

Slowly, he let out a breath and pressed his thumb to the screen.

It unlocked. I snatched the phone from his hands, my vision swimming as I scrolled.

“Helena,” he began, but I cut him off before he could say more.

“No, be quiet,” I said.

The messages weren’t long.

Thank you for the cake, it was my favorite.

The flowers were beautiful. You’re too sweet to me.

So excited to see you again tonight. Love you!

“Who is she, Chad?” I demanded.

“She’s my mother, Helena,” he said.

And my entire world tilted.

“The hell she is,” I spat.

“Helena. Please. Just listen. For once, just listen and talk to me like I’m an adult and not one of the kids,” his eyes pleaded with me.

I didn’t speak. I just waited.

“First of all, the phone, it’s not some secret burner phone. My usual one fell out of my turnout gear at a fire scene last week. The screen shattered. I had to get another one but I haven’t finished transferring everything yet. The kids’ pictures are still on the old one. I was going to sort it out this weekend.”

I faltered. Just slightly. Fine, that explained the phone.

“And the messages?” I asked. “Who is she?”

“You know I grew up in foster care,” he said simply.

The shift in topic knocked the wind out of me.

“You know I never knew my parents,” he continued, voice hoarse. “I told you that.”

I did. It was something we had talked about in the early years, how he had bounced from home to home, how he had no memories of his mother except for faint details.

“She gave me up when I was four,” he said. “I barely remembered her. Just flashes. The scent of her perfume in the wind. The sound of her laugh. But three months ago, she found me. My mother found me.”

“How did she find you?” I asked. “I need more information. I need to understand this, Chad.”

“That silly article,” he said. “The firefighter piece. The one about me saving the cat from the tree and being the “cat whisperer” because everyone calls me to save the animals,” he huffed a bitter laugh.

That article had been adorable. We had it framed for our study.

“She saw my picture, Helena,” he continued. “Saw my last name and that bit about my foster care background and knew it had to be me.”

“And then?” I asked.

“She showed up at the station,” he said, rubbing his jaw. “She told me that she had spent years looking for me. That she had never stopped. That giving me up was the worst mistake of her life, but she was alone back then. She had no money to take care of herself, let alone her child. So, she thought that foster care would give me a better chance.”

“She said that she hated herself for it.”

“You should have told me,” I whispered.

“I wanted to,” he admitted. “But I was scared. I didn’t know if she was real, if she was someone I could trust. I didn’t want to bring her into our lives just to have her disappear again.”

He shook his head. “Helena,” he said quietly. “I couldn’t let her meet the kids until I was sure.”

“And the flowers? The cake?” my voice was unsteady.

“She lives in a nursing home, Helena. It’s not much of a place. She doesn’t have anyone. She likes sweets. And flowers make her smile. I don’t know, sweetheart… I just wanted to do something for her. For the years she’s missed.”

“Take me to meet her,” I said.

“You mean it? Helena, really?” he asked.

I nodded. “She’s your mother, Chad,” I whispered. “And if she’s important to you, I want to know her. I want our kids to know her.”

We left the kids with a babysitter while we made our way to the nursing home.

His mother Miranda sat by the window, the light from outside softening the deep lines on her face.

She was thinner than I expected, her body small against the oversized cardigan wrapped around her shoulders. Wisps of silver hair framed her delicate features and in that instant, I saw it.

She turned at the sound of the door. The moment her gaze landed on Chad, her breath hitched. Tears welled instantly, her frail hands gripping the arms of her chair as if to hold herself together.

“You came,” she whispered to Chad.

“I said I would. Is something special happening? It’s busy tonight,” he murmured.

Miranda laughed.

“It’s Bingo night,” she explained. “And sometimes people invite their families over, too. That’s why I told you to come tonight.”

I stepped forward, my own throat tightening.

“I’m Helena,” I said softly. “Chad’s wife.”

Something in her broke.

A shaky hand covered her mouth, her shoulder trembling as silent sobs racked through her. She hadn’t just missed Chad. She had missed all of this. She had missed birthdays, weddings, Christmas mornings, scraped knees and bedtimes stories, not just with Chad, but our children, too.

She had missed a lifetime. I crossed the room and took her hand.

“Tell me everything,” I whispered.

And just like that, the years she thought she had lost weren’t lost at all.