Tears slowly filled my eyes as I stood there watching. For days I had imagined painful possibilities in my mind. I had thought Tyler might be hiding some terrible secret or even supporting another child somewhere else. Instead the truth was something completely different. It was a story of helplessness and quiet sacrifice.
Without making any noise I turned around and walked back home. My heart felt heavy with compassion yet there was also a small painful feeling that the truth had been hidden from me.
The following morning after breakfast I looked directly at Tyler and spoke calmly. “I followed you last night and I saw everything at your mother’s house.”
He froze immediately and lowered his eyes. After a long moment he said quietly, “I am sorry. I did not want to burden you. You had just become a mother and you needed to recover. But when I heard the baby crying from hunger at my mother’s house I could not ignore it.”
I reached across the table and held his hand gently. “I am not angry,” I told him. “But next time please do not hide things from me. We should face problems together.”