Page 38 of Every Now and Then
“Kyle is having an affair.” I start and stop several times before I finally continue, “He said he’d come home to talk to me, but that was hours ago. And now, he’s not answering his phone.”
It still hasn’t fully sunk in yet that my husband is having an affair and that my marriage is ending but saying it out loud makes it feel real.
“What? Kyle’s having an affair?” Laura’s shock is clear in her response.
“Yes,” I sob. “I think he may have left me. For her.”
“Oh my God, Anna. Stay put. I’m running out to my car now. I’ll be there soon, okay? Do you need anything?”
“No. Just you. I don’t know… anything. Who he’s having an affair with, when it started, or how serious it is. Shit, Laura! Why is this happening? I don’t know what to do.”
“Hey, take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay. You’re strong, and you’ll get through this. Give yourself some time to wrap your head around it.” She sighs. “Anna, it’s raining really hard, so I’m going to get off the phone. I need to concentrate on driving, but I’ll be there as fast as I can. Okay?”
“Okay. Thank you,” I whisper.
I stand sentry at the front of the house, eyes fixed on the street outside. Every time a car approaches, I whisper a silent prayer that it’s Kyle coming home.
But each time the car doesn’t stop, the ache in my chest deepens.
8:32.
A car creeps slowly down our street before turning into the driveway. I’m overwhelmed with relief, believing it to be Kyle. But something’s off. The headlights are too low. It’s not his SUV, so it must be Laura's car.
Then the car glides up the driveway, and our exterior lights switch on, illuminating it.
My mouth opens in a silent scream as my heart leaps into my throat.
Throwing open the front door, I rush outside to meet the police officer. It’s pouring, but I don’t feel the rain as it soaks through my clothes. The only thing I feel is raw, primal fear coursing through me.
A middle-aged man in a state trooper’s uniform grasps my elbow, gently steering me under the cover of the front porch. He’s wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a bright yellow reflective rain jacket.
His eyes are kind but filled with sorrow. Before he even speaks a word, I know why he’s here.
I back away from him, shaking my head from side to side. “No. No! Don’t say it.”
“Ma’am, are you Kyle Morris’ wife?”
After that, it’s all a blur. Laura arrived while the state trooper was still at the house, so she took control of the situation. I was an absolute mess and in no condition to do anything.
Over the next few hours, she called relatives and began coordinating logistics while I sat on our couch wrapped in a million blankets because I couldn’t stop shivering.
The next morning, I had to tell Grace and Claire that their father was dead. Our families came to stay with us. We held a funeral and buried Kyle with all the pomp and circumstance befitting a young, loving husband and father who was gone too soon.
All the while, I was suffocating beneath the weight of it all—the secrets, the stress, the sadness, the anger, and the agony of mourning both my husband and the marriage I thought we had… but didn’t.
Then
Officials Identify Driver in Fatal Single-Vehicle Crash
NASHVILLE — Metro Nashville police have identified the driver killed in a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Whitehouse Road and Mission Parkway as 30-year-old Kyle Morris of Brentwood.
According to a preliminary police report, Morris was traveling northbound on Whitehouse Road when he lost control of his Toyota Land Cruiser and struck a utility pole just after 5:30 P.M. yesterday. Authorities believe weather conditions may have contributed to the crash.
Morris was transported to Nashville General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
14
Hayes
