CHAPTER 3 She Will Come Back

David.

Kate did not come home that night.

Or the next night.

Or the night after that.

I told myself she was being dramatic. She always came back. After every argument, every disappointment, every time I put work first or forgot something important, she always came back.

This time would be no different.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," Theo whined from the kitchen table. "Where's Mom?"

"She's staying with a friend for a few days." I opened the refrigerator and stared at its contents like they would magically arrange themselves into a meal. "We'll order pizza."

"Again?" Theo's face fell. "We had pizza yesterday. And the day before."

Because Sarah had been too busy to cook, and I had no idea how to make anything beyond cereal and toast.

How had Kate made this look so easy?

"Pizza sounds great, buddy," I said firmly. "With extra cheese. Your favorite."

Except when the pizza arrived, Theo took one bite and pushed it away. His face was red, splotchy. "My throat feels weird."

"What?" I looked closer. His lips were swelling. "Theo, did they put nuts on this?"

"I don't know!" His breathing was getting rapid, panicky.

The nut allergy. The one Kate tracked obsessively, the one she had memorized every restaurant's cross-contamination policy for, the one I had always rolled my eyes at because she was being overprotective.

I grabbed the EpiPen from the drawer where Kate kept it, administered it with shaking hands, and called 911.

At the hospital, while they monitored Theo, I tried calling Kate.

No answer.

I called again and again.

Nothing.

"Mr. Taylor?" The nurse appeared. "Your son is stable but you need to be more careful. The order ticket clearly listed tree nuts in the crust."

I had not even thought to check.

Kate would have checked.

I tried her number one more time, and this time it went straight to voicemail. She had blocked me.

My wife had actually blocked me.

"Can someone call my mom?" Theo asked weakly from the hospital bed. "I want Mom."

"She's busy, buddy."

"Then call Miss Sarah. She'll come."

I called Sarah. She came within twenty minutes, still in her work clothes, looking concerned and competent and exactly like what I needed.

Except when she tried to comfort Theo, he pulled away.

"You're not Mom," he said, his voice small. "You smell wrong."

Sarah's smile tightened. "I'm trying to help, sweetheart."

"I want my actual mom."

Something twisted in my chest. When had Theo started calling Kate his "actual mom" like there was any other kind?

~~~

The next morning, I had the maid call Kate. She answered on the second ring.

"Is Theo okay?" Kate asked immediately.

"Miss Kate, the boy is asking for you. He had an allergic reaction last night and Mr. David thought—"

"Is Theo alright?" Her voice went sharp with panic, and I hated how good it felt to hear her care.

"He's fine now but he wants you to come home."

There was a long pause. Then, "Tell David I'm not coming back. Tell Theo I love him and I'll see him on Saturday for our custody arrangement."

She hung up.

Custody arrangement. Like we were already divorced. Like our marriage was already over.

I grabbed the phone from the maid. "What did she say exactly?"

"That she's not coming back, sir."

No. That was not acceptable. Kate did not get to just leave. She was my wife. The mother of my children. She belonged here.

I would fix this. I just needed to see her, talk to her, make her understand she was being irrational.

~~~

Friday morning, I took Theo to kindergarten myself. Something I had not done in months.

"Why isn't Mom taking me?" Theo asked.

"Because I wanted to spend time with my boy." I ruffled his hair, but he pulled away.

We walked into the school yard just as Kate was dropping off Tehilla.

My wife looked different. She wore clothes I had not seen before—professional, elegant, the kind of thing she used to wear when we started dating. Her hair was styled and she was wearing makeup.

She looked like the woman I married.

Tehilla hugged her tight, and Kate kissed her forehead, whispering something that made our daughter giggle.

Then she turned to leave.

She walked right past me.

Did not even look at me.

Like I was invisible. Like I did not exist.

"Kate!" I called out.

She paused but did not turn around. "Check your email, David. The divorce papers are there. Sign them."

Then she was gone, her heels clicking against the pavement, and I stood there holding Theo's hand like an idiot.

"Daddy?" Theo tugged at my sleeve. "Is Mom really not coming home?"

I looked down at my son, at the confusion in his eyes, and felt something cold settle in my stomach.

Tehilla stood a few feet away, her little backpack dragging on the ground. She walked over to us slowly.

"You are meant to tell Mommy sorry," she said, her voice very serious. "You and Theo. You were mean."

"Sweetie, it's more complicated than that—"

"No!" She crossed her arms, looking exactly like Kate when she was being stubborn. "You made Mommy sad. You are supposed to say sorry. That's what you tell us to do."

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Theo protested. "Mom's the one who left. Mom's the one who doesn't care about us anymore."

I should have corrected him. I should have explained that his mother loved him more than anything.

But part of me, the angry part, wanted to believe he was right.

"Come on, Theo." I took his hand. "Let's get you to class."

Tehilla watched us with Kate's eyes, judging and finding us wanting.

That afternoon, I finally opened my email.

The divorce petition sat there. Irreconcilable differences, division of assets, and custody arrangements.

I read through it once, twice, three times.

She wanted fifty percent of everything. Joint custody. The house or its equivalent value.

She actually thought she was leaving me.

I picked up my phone and called my lawyer. "I need you to fight this. Every single clause. I want full custody of both children. I want the house and I want her to understand what she's throwing away."

"David, are you sure? This could get ugly."

"I'm sure. She needs to learn she can't just walk away from her family."

I hung up and leaned back in my chair.

Kate would come crawling back. She had no money of her own, no career, no options. She would realize she needed me, and when she did, I would be waiting.

I would forgive her eventually. After she apologized. After she understood her place.

My phone buzzed. A text from Sarah.

“Dinner tonight? I have ideas for the Ashford pitch.”

I smiled. At least someone appreciated me.

“Sounds perfect. Pick you up at seven.”

Kate thought she could replace me. But she would learn.

They always came back.

~~~

Except on Saturday, when I took Theo to see Tehilla at the court-mandated exchange, Kate was there waiting.

She looked at me once, her face completely blank, then knelt to hug Theo.

"Hi, baby," she said softly. "I missed you."

Theo hesitated, then threw his arms around her neck. "I missed you too, Mommy."

Not Mom. Mommy. Like he was two years old again.

Kate held him tight, and I saw her eyes were wet.

"I have something to tell you both," she said, pulling Tehilla close too. "Mommy got a job. A really good job at a fancy restaurant. I'm going to be cooking again."

"Like a real chef?" Tehilla asked, excited.

"Like a real chef."

Theo pulled back. "But what about us? Who's going to take care of us?"

"Daddy will take care of you during the week. And you'll be with me on weekends. We're going to make it work."

She looked up at me then, and her eyes were steel.

"Sign the papers, David."

"We need to talk about this—"

"There's nothing to talk about. Sign them, or my lawyer will make this much worse for you."

She stood up, took both kids' hands, and walked away.

I watched them go, watched my family leave me standing in a parking lot alone.

My phone buzzed again.

An email from Kate's lawyer. Attached was a formal custody proposal, a list of assets, and a court date if I did not respond within fourteen days.

She was serious, she was actually serious.

I called Sarah.

"Sarah, I need you to find out everything you can about Morrison's restaurant. Kate apparently works there now. I want to know who hired her, who she's working with, everything."

"Of course, David. I'll handle it."

At least someone was on my side.

I looked at the divorce papers again, at Kate's signature already there at the bottom, clear and confident.

She thought she was strong enough to do this alone.

We would see about that.