I waved to the nurses at the station as I hurried to Suzie\u2019s room. But when I pushed through the door, I froze in surprise.<\/p>\n
My daughters were sleeping in their bassinets, but Suzie was gone. I thought she might have stepped out for fresh air, but then I saw the note. I tore it open, my hands trembling.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodbye. Take care of them. Ask your mother WHY she did this to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
A nurse carrying a clipboard entered the room. \u201cGood morning, sir, here\u2019s the discharge \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Where\u2019s my wife?\u201d I interrupted.<\/p>\n
The nurse hesitated, biting her lip. \u201cShe checked out this morning. She said you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe \u2014 where did she go?\u201d I stammered to the nurse, waving the note. \u201cDid she say anything else? Was she upset?\u201d<\/p>\n
The nurse frowned. \u201cShe seemed fine. Just\u2026 quiet. Are you saying you didn\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n
I left the hospital in a daze, cradling my daughters, the note crumpled in my fist.<\/p>\n
Suzie was gone. My wife, my partner, the woman I\u2019d thought I knew, had vanished without a word of wa:rn:ing. All I had were two tiny girls, my shattered plans, and that ominous message.<\/p>\n
I delivered the note in her direction. \u201cThis is what\u2019s wrong! What did you do to Suzie?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBen, I don\u2019t know what this is about,\u201d Mom replied. \u201cShe\u2019s\u2026 she\u2019s always been emotional. Maybe she \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t lie to me!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve never liked her. You\u2019ve always found ways to undermine her, criticize her \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve only ever tried to help!\u201d Her voice broke, tears spilling over her cheeks.<\/p>\n
That night, I thought back to our family gatherings, and the small barbs my mother would throw Suzie\u2019s way. Suzie had laughed them off, but I could see now, too late, how they must have cut her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I waved to the nurses at the station as I hurried to Suzie\u2019s room. But when I pushed through the door, I froze in surprise. My daughters… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n