When We Were Opening Christmas Gifts, My 5-Year-Old Shouted, “Yes! The Other Mom Kept Her Promise!”

She said she missed him.”

I stared at him. “You agreed to that without telling me?”

“I was going to,” he said. “I just thought you’d think I was overreacting.”

My voice dropped. “How many times, Mike?”

He hesitated.

That pause told me everything.

“She came by when you were at work,” he admitted. “At first, it seemed harmless. Then one day I overheard her continue reading …