All I'd wanted was to get out early and reunite with my family.
Now I was out.
And I'd discovered that my husband had built a second home while I was gone. He'd even found himself a new wife.
Alberta must have noticed the look on my face, the way I'd gone quiet and still.
She frowned, pulling the baby closer, and took two subtle steps back.
"Who even is this woman?" she muttered to the security guard beside her. "So strange."
Then she saw my eyes turning red.
That stopped her short. She fumbled for a tissue and thrust it toward me.
"Hey, sweetie, what's wrong? Did something happen? Don't cry."
"Just tell me what's going on. What do you need my husband for?"
I forced the tears back and managed a thin smile.
"I've been away from home for five years. Hearing you talk about how much you and your husband love each other just reminded me of my own family, that's all."
Alberta's expression softened.
"Well, why didn't you say so?"
Her gaze drifted downward, landing on the T-shirt under my jacket. Her eyes lit up.
"Is that a Graystone University shirt?"
"What a coincidence! My husband went to Graystone too. You two are alumni!"
I nodded, following her lead.
"That's right. I was Stewart's junior."
Alberta's face broke into delight. She patted my shoulder.
"Why didn't you say so sooner? You're practically family!"
"You've been standing out here in the cold forever. You must be starving. Come on, dinner's on me."
I wanted to refuse, but Alberta was impossible to turn down. She tucked the baby against one hip, grabbed my arm with her free hand, and pulled me to a restaurant near campus.
She waved the server over and ordered dish after dish without blinking.
"Don't be shy! These are all local specialties. Eat as much as you want."
Then she pulled out a bank card to pay, and I froze.
That was my card. The one linked to our family savings.
Stewart had given her that too?
I watched her sample the dishes she'd so extravagantly ordered. A bite here, a taste there, then she'd push the plate aside.
Wasteful didn't begin to cover it.
"Are you the one who handles the finances in your house?" I asked, keeping my voice casual.
"Of course! My husband is so good to me. The moment we got together, he handed over all the money."
"His favorite thing to say is, 'Where a man's money is, that's where his heart is.'"
"I always tease him about it. 'Aren't you afraid I'll go crazy spending it all?'"
"You know what he says?"
"He says if I'm spending too much, it just means he isn't earning enough." She laughed. "Honestly, where do you even find a man like that?"
My grip tightened around my chopsticks. I could only imagine what my face looked like.
Five years of marriage, and Stewart had kept every penny under lock and key. He'd never once been that generous with me. Not once.
If it weren't for how perfectly every detail lined up, I could have sworn the Stewart she was describing and the man I'd married were two completely different people.
Alberta was still gushing, animated and bright-eyed.
She picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour pork, took one bite, and wrinkled her nose, pushing the plate away.
"This chef is mediocre. Not half as good as my husband's cooking."
I stared at that piece of pork with its single bite missing, and something twisted inside my chest.
Every time I used to come home on leave, Stewart would have his signature sweet-and-sour pork simmering on the stove, ready and waiting for me.
Five years.
Ever since I'd gone to prison in his place, I hadn't tasted a single bite of his cooking.
I thought about the year I'd gotten sick. I'd begged people to carry a message home for me, asked them again and again, just so Stewart would come see me.
