He stopped folding. For a second, I thought he might sit down on the bed and finally say something real. Then he smiled, that same easy smile, and pulled me into a hug.
“Everything’s fine, baby. I promise.”
He was gone by noon.
That evening, I made grilled cheese and cut it into triangles the way Alex liked.
He ate half and asked to go to bed early.
That should have been my first clue.
He never asked to go to bed early.
I carried his book in and sat down on the edge of the mattress beside him.
Something was wrong with the bed.
The surface felt bumpy. Not soft, not lumpy like an old mattress, but ridged, like someone had laid a row of pencils under the sheet.
“Alex, honey, sit up for a second.”
“Why?”
“Just for a minute. Mommy needs to check something.”
“No, Mommy, please don’t.”
“Baby, why not?”
His eyes were already filling up. He clutched at my sleeve.
“Please. Please don’t look.”
I lifted him gently and set him on the floor. Then, I peeled back the fitted sheet and raised the mattress.
They were arranged in perfect rows.
Dozens and dozens of them, more than I could count at a glance.
Silver tines pointing in the same direction, handles lined up like little soldiers waiting for orders, and laid out with a kind of care that made my throat close.
Alex burst into tears behind me.
“Please don’t take them away, Mommy. Please.”
“Baby, calm down. Why shouldn’t I take them away?”
“I need them. Me and Daddy need them.”
I turned around slowly.
He was standing there in his dinosaur pajamas, snot running down his lip, hands stretched out toward the bed like I was about to steal something sacred.
“Alex, sweetheart, why? Why do you need forks?”
“Daddy said.”
“Daddy said what?”
“Daddy said not to tell anybody. Not even you.”
“Baby, I’m Mommy. You can tell Mommy anything.”
He shook his head, crying harder.
“It’s Daddy’s secret.”
I tucked him back into bed with the forks still there.
I closed the door.
My hands were shaking as I pulled up Brandon’s name and pressed call.
Brandon answered on the third ring.
His voice sounded strained, thinner than usual.
“Cece, hey. I was about to call you.”
“Care to explain all the forks under our son’s mattress?” I kept my voice low so Alex wouldn’t hear. “I asked you a thousand times. You lied to my face.”
