No one knew I was home.
A shutdown at the metalworking shop in Calgary had given us several unexpected weeks off. My coworkers went to visit family. I bought a ticket that same night because I wanted to surprise my wife.
For four years, I’d worked twelve-hour shifts, eaten reheated meals in a shop that smelled like burnt metal, and spent winters that cracked my lips. Every month, I sent between two and three thousand dollars to Theresa’s bank account.
The money was supposed to finish the house, build our future, and take care of Lucy while I was gone. Altogether, I’d sent almost a hundred thousand dollars, plus a bonus every December.
I never questioned it.
I trusted my mother. I trusted Brianna. Most of all, I believed my wife was safe.
During our video calls, Lucy always said, “I’m fine, my love. Don’t worry.”
Then, a few months ago, she stopped turning on her camera. Bad internet, she said. An old phone. She was tired.
Now I knew why.
Lucy tried to stand, but her legs buckled. Brianna came outside in a new dress holding a wine glass.
“Hurry up. We still need the dinner plates.”
“I feel dizzy,” Lucy whispered. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
Brianna laughed. “With everything you stole, you should be able to buy yourself a feast.”
Every part of me wanted to charge through that door.
But years around failing machines had taught me something: when something starts breaking down, listen before you touch it. The noise tells you where the failure began.
So I listened.
Lucy begged to call me. Theresa came into the backyard wearing the gold hummingbird necklace I’d given Lucy for our fifth anniversary.
“He has the right to know I’m sick,” Lucy said.
“You’re not going to worry him,” Theresa answered. “He’s working to get us ahead, not carry the burden of your drama.”
