Sadie arrived carrying a worn backpack and a grocery bag stuffed with clothes. She was almost painfully polite, and she watched me as though she expected me to change my mind and send her away.
But my children loved her almost immediately. She helped me with the dishes, read bedtime stories, and quietly became the thread holding our family together while I was barely keeping myself from falling apart.
Christopher also seemed more at peace whenever she was around.
Still, I knew they were keeping something from me.
They would often disappear into his bedroom and shut the door behind them. One night, I heard Sadie crying while Christopher murmured something to her that I couldn’t make out.
Whenever I asked what was going on, he gave me the same answer.
"Later. You’ll understand later."
Two weeks later, Christopher died in the hospital with my hand tightly wrapped around his.
The following day, Sadie appeared in the doorway of my bedroom, her face pale and her whole body trembling.
"There’s something Christopher made me promise I would tell you."
"Sadie, please. I can barely breathe right now. Does this really have to happen today?"
She shook her head.
"It’s about who your husband really was. He was terrified that he had lied to you your entire life."
Then she reached behind her and pulled out something I had never seen before.
The instant I recognized what it was, my entire body went rigid.
"This can’t wait," she whispered. "Christopher made me swear I wouldn’t tell you until he was gone."
Sadie held out a small silver locket.
For several seconds, I forgot how to breathe.
The room seemed to tilt beneath me.
