Page 14 of Good and Gone

I knock on Mason's door and ask if it's muffin day again. “How should I know?”

I wipe the sleep from my eyes and trek back to our bedroom, lifting my phone off the nightstand. “I bet she’s on her run,” I call over my shoulder.

It's 6:22. Hailey’s usually back by the time my alarm goes off at 6:30. I check for a text or a call. There's nothing. Surely, if she weren’t going to make it back in time to get the kids ready, she would have left a note. But who knows? She’s been so forgetful lately.

I parted the curtains and looked down into the yard. The sprinklers were on, flinging water across the dew-covered grass. No sign of her there.

I walk over and open the closet door. My wife's nightie is hanging from the hook on the inside of the door. I lift it down and turn it over in my hands. I don't know why, but I hold it to my face and sniff it. It smells like her.

“What are you doing?” Lily says, crossing her arms and staring at me with her head cocked to one side. She is wearing a pink T-shirt with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it. She had insisted on wearing it to bed last night, even though it was dirty and one of the sleeves is torn. Like her mother, she doesn't easily relinquish her attachments.

“Nothing,” I say, letting the fabric slip through my fingers. “Let's get you dressed.”

I put on a shirt, then lead Lily out of our room and into the kitchen. I pour her some cereal. Hailey still isn’t back by the time she’s finished, so I go back to the bedroom for my phone and dial Hailey's cell.

The call goes straight to her voicemail.

“This is Hailey,” she says. “I'm sorry I missed your call. Please leave a message.”Beep.

I waited for the beep, but I can’t seem to form words when I hear it. I have no idea what to say.Where are you? Are you okay?

I waste time trying to think of something, something that makes sense, but then I just hang up. I’m not sure whether to be worried or angry, and I seem to teeter between both emotions equally.

“Is Mommy driving us to school?” Lily asks.

“I don't know, baby,” I say, opening the door to the garage. My car is there. I check the entryway. Her purse is where she left it last night. Her keys are inside.

Wherever she went, she couldn't have gone far.

“Where’s Mom?” Mason says. “I can’t find my readers.”

“Your what?”

“His readers.” Lily repeats. When I seem lost, she huffs and says, “His books!”

“Oh,” I tell him. “I don’t know. Look around.”

Lily tugs at my pajama bottoms. “Are you going to help me get dressed?”

“Can’t you manage?” I glance toward the bay window and out at the street, becoming angrier by the minute. In my mind, I plan out all the things I intend to get off my chest when Hailey makes her grand appearance. “Give it your best shot,” I say to Lily. “I need to get ready for work.”

By the time I’ve dressed and Hailey still isn’t home, I really start to worry. While I was brushing my teeth, I was imagining her down the lane, chatting it up with a neighbor, later admitting how sorry she was that she lost track of time. But now I wonder if I’m being punished for something?Is this payback for not answering her call when her car broke down?

I put Lily's lunch in her backpack, put her shoes on her feet, and tie her laces. Maybe she senses that I'm stressed, but she doesn't argue with me the way she does with Hailey. “We’re going to be late,” I say, nudging her out the door and into the garage.

I walk back inside and yell for Mason to hurry up. He doesn't like going to school, but neither does he like the idea of being grounded for not listening.

“I hate school,” he grumbles as he strolls down the stairs at the most leisurely pace possible. “Where's Mom?”

“Your mother will be back soon. Did you find your books?”

“It's not fair,” he mutters, as if he didn't hear me.

“Life isn't fair,” I say. But they're just words. “Did your mother mention having a meeting? Did she tell you I'd be taking you to school?”

Staring back at me, I see the confused look on his face, and I know the answer. “Go get in the car with your sister. I’ll be out in a sec.”

As I’m backing down the driveway, our neighbor steps out onto his porch and waves me down. “You on school duty today?”

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