Later that night, Hailey came to me crying. Her face was red, and her shoulders were shaking.
“Honey, what happened?” I asked her and pulled her onto my lap.
She wiped her nose. “Daddy said I have to stop eating if I want to dance.”
I froze. “What did he say?”
She nodded and looked down. “He said I’ll soon be three times my size.”
I hugged her tighter. “Sweetie, you’re growing. Your body needs food. That’s how you get strong. That’s how you dance.”
She gave a small nod.
“Okay, go play now. I need to talk to your dad,” I said. She went into the kids’ room, and I went into the living room. Henry was lying on the sofa, watching a game.
“Did you really tell our daughter she’s fat?” I asked him.
He didn’t look at me. “No.” I said that if she kept eating like that, she’d get fat.
“She’s seven!” I said. “Have you lost your mind?”
“She eats like an adult,” he replied.
“You’re impossible! She eats like any other child.”
“She’s a girl. A future woman. She should care about how she looks.”
“She’s a child! She doesn’t owe anyone anything!”
“You never do anything with them,” he said.
“Really? Do you even know how old your children are? Their birthdays? What they like to do?”
“It’s your job. You’re their mother. You’re raising them.”
“And you’re their father. That means something!”
“I’m done with this!” he shouted. “Get out! Take your children and leave! You’re all useless!” “Are you serious?” I said.
“Yes! Get out! I don’t want to see you here again!”
He went upstairs and came back with my clothes stuffed into garbage bags. He threw them at my feet.
“What are you looking at?” he growled. “Go pack the children’s things too.”
I couldn’t believe it. My hands were shaking, and my heart felt like it was going to burst.
How could I have lived with this man for so many years? This monster. He didn’t shout. He didn’t shout.
He just packed our things and threw us out, as if we were nothing. As if his own children meant nothing.
