My Granddaughter Whispered Grandpa Do Not Go Home Until I Realized What She Had Heard

last night,” she said. “After you went to bed.”

A cold feeling moved through my chest. Not panic, not yet. Just a cold, quiet sliding sensation, like ice shifting in a glass.

“Talking to who?”

“On the phone. In the kitchen. She thought I was asleep.”

I kept my voice easy. “What did you hear, sweetheart?”

She hesitated the way children hesitate when they continue reading …