Zach is forced to face his mother, the one person he has always trusted, after returning home to discover his wife gone and his six-year-old twins waiting with a mysterious message.
Everything he believed to be true about love, loyalty, and their quiet is in jeopardy because of what follows.
I was 15 minutes late arriving home that evening.
That might not sound like much, but in our house, 15 minutes mattered. It was long enough for Jyll to text me, “Where are you?” and for the girls to become hungry, as well as for bedtime to begin to slide.
That was the first thing I noticed – how still everything was.
Fifteen minutes was important in our home.
The driveway was excessively tidy, with no jump rope knotted on the grass, no chalk marks, and no bags left on the steps. Even though Jyll always turned on the porch light at six, it wasn’t on.
I looked at my phone. No calls were missed. Don’t text in rage. Nothing.
I halted with my hand on the doorknob, the weight of the day sitting somewhere behind my eyelids.
My shirt collar was still damp from the rain, and the only sound I heard was the quiet buzz of a neighbor’s lawnmower three doors down.
No calls were missed. Don’t text in rage. Nothing.
I entered, and it wasn’t “quiet.” It was wrong.
The television was not on. The kitchen lights were off. And dinner — mac and cheese, still in the pot — was sitting on the stove like someone had gone away mid-step. “”Hello,” I shouted. My keys struck the table forcefully. “Jyll? Girls?”
Nothing.
The kitchen lights were off.
Halfway to phoning Jyll’s cell, I kicked off my shoes and walked around the corner into the living room.
However, Mikayla, the babysitter, was already there in the living room. She stood awkwardly near the armchair, phone in hand, her expression somewhere between concerned and sorry.
As I walked in, she raised her head.I was going to give you a call, Zach,” she added.
However, there was already someone in the living room.Why?” I asked, taking two steps forward. “Where’s Jyll?”
She nodded toward the couch. Our twins, Emma and Lily, both six, were cuddled up next to each other. Their shoes were still on, their backpacks were strewn onto the floor near them. “Mikayla remarked, “Jyll called me around four.”
“She asked if I could come over because she stated she needed to take care of something. I assumed it was maybe running errands or something.””Where is Jyll?”Lily, Emma, what’s happening?”
In front of the girls, I knelt.Mom said goodbye, Daddy,” Emma murmured, blinking slowly. “She said goodbye forever.”What do you mean, forever? Was that what she said?
Lily nodded, not looking at me, but her eyebrows were furrowed. “Her bags were taken by her.”Goodbye forever,” she said.Daddy, she gave us a hug. for a very long period. She sobbed.Lily continued, “And she said you’d explain it to us.” “What does that mean?”
I looked up at Mikayla. Her mouth was quivering.I didn’t know what to do. This is how they’ve been ever since I arrived. I attempted to speak with them, but… Look, when I entered, Jyll had already left. I’m not sure—”You’ll explain it to us, she said.
I stood, heart thumping now, and proceeded to the bedroom.
I learned everything from the closet. Jyll had a naked side. Her favorite sweater — the fluffy pale blue one she wore when she was sick with a cold — was gone.
And so was her beauty bag, her laptop, and the small framed photo of the four of us at the beach last summer.
All… gone.
Jyll had a naked side.
I then proceeded to the kitchen. There was a folded piece of paper on the counter next to my coffee mug.Zach
You deserve a fresh start with the girls, in my opinion.
Don’t blame yourself, please. Simply said, don’t.
But if you want answers… It would be best if you asked your mother.
All my love,
Jyll.”
You deserve a fresh start with the girls, in my opinion.
When I called the school, my hands were trembling.
“Office hours are 7:30 to 4:00…” said the message that immediately went to voicemail.
After hanging up, I dialed the aftercare number that Jyll had stored on my phone.”Aftercare,” a weary woman’s voice replied.This is Zach,” I said. “Did my wife pick up the twins today? Can you check the records?”
There was a silence.Could you look through the records?No, sir. The babysitter was confirmed by your wife over the phone earlier.
However, your mother arrived yesterday.My mother?” “She requested copies of the documents and inquired about modifying the pickup authorization. We told her we can’t do it without a parent. It didn’t feel acceptable.”
I looked down at Jyll’s note once again. Ask your mom. “However, your mother arrived yesterday.
I stared at the words, reading them again and again as if additional time might translate them into something other — something reversible. I had no time to break down.
I just assisted the girls in putting on their jackets, picked up their backpacks, and escorted them to the vehicle.Mikayla said, “If you’d like, I can stay with the twins.” “I can do bath time and order pizza or —”But no, Mikayla, thank you. I believe the girls just need to be with me, and I need to talk to my mom. I’m grateful for everything.
I had no time to break down.
It was a peaceful journey to my mother’s place. Emma continued drumming her fingers against the window as Lily hummed a few off-key notes before becoming silent. I kept checking the rearview mirror.
They weren’t asking questions or sobbing. They were simply there.”Are you girls alright back there?” I asked in a light-spoken manner.
Emma gave a small shoulder shrug. “Is Mommy mad?”No, sweetheart,” I murmured, swallowing the knot in my throat. “She’s just… figuring some things out.””Is Mommy angry?”Will we be visiting Grandma Carol’s?”Yes, girls, we are.”Does Grandma know Mommy’s whereabouts? Emma inquired, her eyes catching mine in the mirror. “We will discover,” I declared.
However, I was already somewhat aware of it.Does Grandma know Mommy’s whereabouts?
My mother didn’t “help.” She kept score, corrected, and hovered. She labeled Jyll selfish for going back to work. And when Jyll did attempt therapy at last, my mother managed to intervene, guide, and destroy it.
Jyll seemed fine to me. Tired, definitely. Quiet at times. But who wouldn’t be, juggling newborn twins?
One evening, I told her she was doing a fantastic job as a mother of twins while folding a onesie. She looked at me like I’d thrown something at her.
As a mother to twins, she was doing fantastically.
I pulled into the driveway. The light on the porch remained off.
My mother appeared shocked to see me when she answered the door.”Zach?” she blinked. “What’s happening? Are you not supposed to be at home?””What did you do?” I asked, holding up the note. “Are the twins with you?” she inquired, peering past me, toward the automobile.
She seems shocked to see me.”Mom, what did you do?””Come in,” she said. “I’ll get the girls, and then we can talk.”
My aunt Diane was in the kitchen, cleaning down the counter like she’d been there a long. She raised her head, studied my face, and became still.
The girls were inside, sitting with juice boxes at the kitchen table. With my heart racing, I followed my mom into the den and took a seat two cushions away.”Mom, what did you do?”Jyll is gone,” I said. “And she left me this.”
My mom took a deep breath, as if she had been preparing for this moment.”Zach, I was always afraid she might run,” she said, smoothing her robe as if she were mending a non-broken item.
Why?” “I always worried that she may run, Zach.” “Son, you understand why. She was frail, Zach. Following the twins—””You think she stayed fragile forever?” I interrupted. “That was nearly six years ago.”She never completely got better.
I’ll give her credit for playing the part. However, you also witnessed the mood swings and blank stares. She was losing her footing.”You used to claim that she had no gratitude at all.Son, you understand why.”She was that too,” my mother continued.
More than that, though, she required assistance. She required order. And I handed it to her.You didn’t assist her. You had her under control.”Zach, she needed to be in control! It needed to be held together by someone.
You were putting in twelve-hour workdays, and she—”She was giving it her all!”Something has to be held together by someone.”She was spiraling.” “No, Mom,” I responded, leaning forward. “You were going downhill. You just dragged her down with you.”
She clinched her jaw but remained silent.Jyll told me everything,” I said. “Regarding your custody threats. Additionally, why do you think I’ve done everything in my power to keep my children away from you?”Jyll filled me in on everything.”That’s absurd,” she remarked, waving dismissively. “I never —””Don’t tell me lies,” I yelled.
She stood when I did, trying to block me as I rushed past her and ripped the desk drawer open.
Inside was a set of manila files; the one on top made my insides turn cold. “Emergency Custody Protocol.”
With my pulse pounding, I opened it.Protocol for Emergency Custody.
There it was: My name, Jyll’s name on notarized pages. A guardianship contingency plan was signed “in the event of emotional instability.”You forged my signature, Mom?”
She took a sharp breath in.Zach, it was a precaution. Surely, you may comprehend that.” “For what?! In case you ultimately pushed my wife too far?” “You falsified my signature, Mom?” “She wasn’t fit, Zach. I did what I had to do.”
I didn’t answer. I picked up the file, pivoted on my heel, and left.
That night, I slept between my daughters, both wrapped around me like they could know something definitive had happened. Emma gripped the picture I had assumed Jyll had taken.
But I’d found it in our bathroom, close to a box of tissues. “She wasn’t fit, Zach. I did what I had to do.”
I didn’t weep. I just stared at the ceiling and thought about all the times I chose silence instead of leaning in… I considered all the times I had mistaken stability for survival.
Additionally, I told myself that Jyll was simply exhausted during the months following the twins’ birth, even if she appeared to be a ghost.
Carol’s voice came through louder.
I let my wife go unheard.
She was simply exhausted, I told myself.
When I opened Jyll’s drawer again the next morning, I discovered a journal that I had never seen before. It was packed of deadly truths. “Day 112: Both girls wept when I left the room. I also wanted to cry. Carol, however, insisted that I teach them resilience.
I nibbled my inside lip till it started to bleed.Day 345: The therapist said that I’m making progress at telling my truth. Carol attended the meeting. She wouldn’t let me go by myself. She reported that the therapist was bad… and canceled next week’s session.” “Day 586: I miss being someone. Not just their mother and not just his wife. I long to be myself again.
There were many heartbreaking facts in it.
I brought the girls to the park the next day and went directly to a family lawyer.
By lunchtime, the falsified documents were discovered, my mother was taken out of school pickup, and a formal notice prohibiting communication with my wife and access to my kids was written.
That night, I sat on the edge of the bed and called her.
Before I made the call, I sat there looking at my screen.
No access to my children.
Jyll picked up after two rings. “”Zach,” she muttered.
I breathed in. “I’m very sorry, my dear. I didn’t see it, Jyll. I assumed that the girls and my mother being… herself were overwhelming you. I didn’t realize that it was more. I ought to have.
A pause occurred.
Jyll picked up after two rings. “”I understand,” she murmured. “You tried. However, you were unsure of how.”I made an effort to avoid her involvement. I thought it helped.” “Zach, you were keeping me safe. But you were protecting me from the wrong things.”
Even though she couldn’t see it, I nodded.I’ll make it right. My attorney is now in possession of that custody file. Mom is finished. She is never going to come to our house or pick up our girls.”Zach…””I ought to have picked you,” I remarked. “I was unaware that I had to. However, I do now.Hon, you did. Just a bit late.”
After that, Jyll remained silent.Jyll, I want you to return home to us. “Please.”I know,” she murmured, and her voice cracked. However, I am unable to. Not quite yet. I need to get back to myself first. I want to come back… as a better version of me.
I wasn’t the shell I was.However, I am unable to. Not just yet.”We’ll wait for you, Jyll,” I promised. “You’re a fantastic dad,” she continued. “And we appreciate you picking our daughters. And for still picking me.”I’ll keep picking you.”
A parcel with no return address showed up three days later. Inside: two sets of velvet scrunchies, two sets of crayons, and a selfie of Jyll sitting at the beach, smiling.
After three days, a parcel showed up.Zach, I appreciate you seeing me. I’ll send stuff to the girls whenever I can. I’m doing my utmost. I hope I can come home soon.
— J.
Whispering my wife’s name like a vow, I folded the note.
I would be the one waiting at home with the porch light on this time.I hope I’ll be home to you shortly.”