Leave and never return.
Sam, I saw an advert yesterday evening a threebed flat in the exact area weve been looking for, the perfect one. We could afford it, couldnt we? If we sell the house, we could help Lucy clear her mortgage. Lets go see it, Kate stared at her husband with eyes alight with anticipation, but he merely waved her off with a tired sigh.
Not today, he said, I was up until midnight finishing a report yesterday, and today Ill be late again. Ill probably get home at night, he added, gulping the last of his coffee, snatching the car keys and a folder of papers from the shelf, and slipping out.
Kate exhaled, disappointment curling in her chest. She didnt want to argue. Lately Sam had been rare at home, arriving late, even working weekends, but his salary was good and Kate longed to move to the city, nearer to their daughter. They had saved for years, putting every penny Sam earned into a bank account while living on his mothers pension and Kates wages. She was a manager at the local community centre and ran a dance club on the side. It was hard, but the dream of living in a bustling town, teaching at a grand cultural palace, kept her going.
Kate and Sam had met in the countys administrative centre. He was a finalyear university student, she was studying choreography at a performing arts college. They fell in love so swiftly that, as soon as Sam got his degree, they married and moved to his hometown.
Kate dropped out after one year, but she never regretted it; Sam was now her lawful husband, and she was certain they would spend a long, happy life together. Yet the marriage began on shaky ground. Almost immediately after they settled into Sams family home, Sam was called up for a year of National Service. Kate was already distressed by the looming separation, and then Sams mother, Margaret, arrived. From the moment she saw her son with a woman who wasnt her, Margarets hatred for Kate sprang up. She barely spoke to Sam, merely chiding him, You promised! Kate tried to win her over, taking on any chore, but nothing eased the tension.
Why didnt you talk to Mum before? What did you promise? Kate asked Sam.
Sam explained that two years earlier his sister, Emily, had died at seventeen after a reckless romance with a man freshly out of prison. Emily had ignored her mothers pleas, fled home with him, and one night their drunken ride on a motorbike ended in tragedy. The fiancé landed back in prison for a long sentence. After Emilys funeral, Margaret forced Sam to swear never to marry without her blessing. He broke that promise, and Margarets resentment festered.
Kate insisted she would stay, insisting she loved Sam and would do anything to win Margarets approval. In a few weeks the old womans heart thawed. She saw Kates diligence, cheerfulness and kindness, and begrudgingly admitted she had chosen a worthy daughterinlaw. Margaret also learned that Kates own mother had died eleven years before, and she had been raised by her father, who had recently remarried a woman with two small children. The stepmother declared there was no room for Kate in the new household, insisting she must fend for herself.
Its not because of that I married Sam, Kate blushed under Margarets frowning stare, I got a place in a student hall, a scholarship for my studies. I cant live without Sam, I love him, I love him dearly.
Margarets expression softened, then she embraced Kate, tears of sorrow and relief spilling down her cheeks. The weight on her heart seemed to lift, as if a storm had passed.
A year later Sam returned, taking a job at the district office, commuting daily in shifts. Kate became a club organiser and head of the dance class. Their wages were modest, and soon their daughter Lucy was born. Money was tight, but Margaret helped, caring for her granddaughter and sparing nothing. Later Sam moved to a larger firm, traveling for work, climbing the corporate ladder, and his salary multiplied. The small town hall was replaced by a spacious cultural centre where Kate was appointed manager, yet she kept her beloved dance club, taking local girls to competitions where they won prizes. Their life settled into comfort: they bought a sleek car, renovated their home, and vacationed by the sea.
All was well until Lucy left for university in the city and got married. Kate missed her daughter and recalled her own dream of working in a grand cultural palace. One evening she suggested to Sam that they save enough to buy a flat in the city where Lucy lived, sell their house, and help her clear her mortgage. Sam thought for a moment, then gladly agreed, noting their firm had a branch there, so he could transfer. He warned that his whole salary would have to be deposited in a bank, and they would live on Margarets pension and Kates earnings. The family council approved, and they began to save.
Life grew harder, but Kate didnt complain; she had never been pampered. Sam, however, started staying later and later at work, claiming extra responsibilities for higher pay. Kate believed him, never suspecting foul play, yet a knot of anxiety tightened inside her. When she timidly mentioned it, Sam snapped:
I work from dawn till dusk to earn more, and youll fill me with nonsense? Decide what you wantme by your side or a flat in the city near Lucy? Or a grandchild, and youll have to bus around? Calm down and endure.
Kate endured, though calm never came. One night, after Sam staggered in at half past one, she finally said she no longer wanted to move, that she would stay as before if only Sam could be home in the evenings, share evenings together, visit friends. They eventually fell asleep not as strangers but as a married couple still loving each other. Sam listened, stripped, and turned to the wall, sleeping silently. The next day he arrived late again.
Then Sam vanished. He left for work in the morning and never returned that evening, nor the next. His phone was switched off, and Kate could not reach any of his colleagueshe had never spoken of his job. After frantic calls to the morgue and hospitals, tears streaming in the dark, Kate decided to drive to the city where Sam worked.
As she packed, Margaret stood nearby, sighing heavily, her face a map of sleeplessness.
Dont worry, Mother, hell be found, alive, Kate whispered as softly as possible, hugging her. She tried to convince herself, tears welling, throat tightening, yet she clenched her teeth and repeated, Hes alive, I know it.
A familiar voice startled her. Hey, you heading into town? Want to go together? a friend called from a minibus stop. You buying a new car, right? Maybe youll sell yours cheap?
What are you talking about? Kate asked, bewildered.
My friend Sam withdrew a huge sum from his savings account at the bank a few days ago. I thought hed buy something, so I paid my own rent there and saw the transaction. Didnt you know? the friend replied.
Kate went pale. Something about that money must have happened to Sam. She rushed to his office, only to learn he had recently resigned. The secretary said hed moved to another job, but no one knew where. Desperate, Kate filed a missingperson report. The police took her claim seriously, recorded her fears, and promised a search.
The next day the police called her in.
Why didnt you tell us youd divorced three months ago? the officer asked, irritated. That changes everything. Perhaps he simply left without notifying you. You didnt find any of his documents at home, did you? He took everything with him?
Kate stared, confused. The officer produced a copy of a court decree and a marriageend certificate. Kates mind spun. When she returned home and told Margaret, the older woman gasped, clamped her hand over her mouth, eyes wide with terror.
What? Kate managed after a beat.
Im sorry, its my fault, Margaret whispered, trembling. Sam told me that legal papers would be served in your name for a loan fraud. He asked me to hide them so you wouldnt be upset, to keep you from the courts. He said his judge friend would sort it out. I didnt know he was filing for divorce. He took all the money it was his salary. This morning he texted me: hes left with another woman, theyre getting married soon. He took everything.
Kate rose from the sofa, stepped outside, and stood in the cold yard, shivering not from the wind but from an ice that settled deep within her soul. She remembered the lilac bushes and birch trees theyd planted by the fence years ago, tall now, sturdier than their marriage. She recalled Sam pulling Lucy on a sled down the lane in winter, the time a piglet escaped from the farm and the family chased it, laughing. The memories dissolved into tears, an empty ache in her heart.
I wont let you go, Mother, Kate said firmly, returning to the house. Sam betrayed me, I dont know why. Was it really just for money? She lowered her head, then lifted her gaze to Margaret. But you didnt betray me. I love you like my own mother, I know youd never hurt me. She embraced Margaret, both weeping.
That night, after sobbing, Kate and Margaret called Lucy and told her everything. Lucy, horrified by her fathers betrayal, swore she would never forgive him. She then offered her mothers a place to live with her. I wanted to surprise you later, but now we need help. Were expecting twins, so we need you, Grandmothers. Sell your house, move in. Our flat has three bedrooms, enough for everyone. Will you agree?
Kate and Margaret exchanged looks, smiles breaking through tears, and agreed.
Sam occasionally visited the city, but Lucy never let him in. Perhaps he hoped to return, perhaps not; no one waited for him any longer, not even his mother. The dream lingered, the streets bending like ribbons, the sky humming with forgotten lullabies, as the couple drifted between memory and longing, never quite reaching the shore of certainty.
