"Every woman who's messing around on the side plays the perfect wife at home. That's the whole point."
"The better the act, the harder it is to see through."
My father had nothing to say to that.
My mother only grew angrier. "That Ethel Pruitt!"
"When she was chasing after Donnie, she knelt outside our door for three days and three nights. Knelt until her forehead was split open from bowing, swearing she'd love him with everything she had. That's the only reason I gave my blessing."
"And now? Two years of marriage, and she has the nerve to bring some man into their home? She's lost her mind!"
My mother was furious.
But what I felt more than anger was confusion.
Because my father was right.
All these years, Ethel had been incredibly good to me.
She was young, accomplished, and strikingly beautiful. There was never a shortage of men pursuing her. Even the hospital director's son had gone out of his way to court her, publicly declaring that if Ethel would be with him, he'd hand her the keys to the entire hospital.
Ethel hadn't so much as flinched.
She'd offended him for it, too. Nearly got blacklisted from the entire medical community.