Enough to Miss Christmas

"Okay, Sarah," she said hesitantly.

I hugged her until she grunted. "Now, let's get ready for our camping trip. Wake up Timmy. There's tons of stuff to do!"

Timmy lugged out two similar size tents. "Which one is for me and Kari?"

"Neither," I answered and pointed to the first. "That one is the guy's tent where you and your dad will sleep. The other one is for us women." I winked at Karen. "We're sleeping together the entire week."

We busied our way through the day with Timmy's enthusiasm spurring us along as we made lists, set aside gear, washed and folded clothes and shopped in half the stores in town. We finished the afternoon with the three of us spelling Mrs. Peck at the toy store for an hour. Both Karen's and my spirits were well above the past few days, in spite of the gloom that hung over us.

Paul was due home until six. At first I dreaded confronting him but as the day progressed, and I saw Karen's mood brighten, I became more and more incensed at what his actions had forced her to endure. I could hardly wait. At first I tried to rationalize what he'd done but the more I thought about it, the more my anger festered until I was ready to kill him for his insensitivity.

"When is Daddy coming home?" Timmy asked. Karen looked petrified.

"Six o'clock. Any minute now." I smiled knowingly at Karen. "Why don't you two go up in your rooms? Karen, you can catch up in your diary and Timmy can pick out which of his toy animals he wants to come camping with him." I looked Karen in the eye. "I want to talk to your father." They both scuttled away only minutes before I heard Paul's car in the drive.

I met him in the driveway before he was out of the vehicle. His smile disappeared when he saw the look on my face.

"You bastard! How could you do that?"

"What?"

"Lie through your teeth to your daughter, cover up Carol's suicide, forge a death certificate, lie to everyone else! Do you want to hear more?"

He sighed. "How did you know?"

"What does it matter? What matters is your daughter has been living with nightmares after being in that fucking cellar while her selfish mother choked herself to death at the end of a rope! Then the poor kid had to endure listening to her lying bastard of a father telling her bull shit about the angels dragging mommy away to heaven because she loved her children so much."

Paul was shocked beyond belief. "Karen was there?"