My Husband and I Divorced After 36 Years – at His Funeral, His Dad Had Too Much to Drink and Said, ‘You Don’t Even Know What He Did for You, Do You?’

A week later, the remote died in the middle of a show I was watching. I went to Troy’s desk to search for batteries.

I opened the drawer and found a neat stack of hotel receipts tucked under some old mail.

Now, Troy did travel to California sometimes, so I wasn’t concerned until I saw that the hotel was in Massachusetts.

Every receipt was for the same hotel, same room number… the dates went back months.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at them until my hands went numb.

Every receipt was for the same hotel.

I kept trying to think of logical reasons for him to be traveling to Massachusetts, and I kept coming up empty.

I counted them. Eleven receipts. Eleven trips he’d lied about.

My chest felt tight. My hands shook as I entered the hotel’s number into my phone.

“Good afternoon. How may I help you?”

“Hi,” I said, forcing my voice steady. I gave her Troy’s full name and explained that I was his new assistant. “I need to book his usual room.”

I entered the hotel’s number into my phone.

“Of course,” the concierge said without hesitation. “He’s a regular. That room is basically reserved for him. When would he like to check in?”

I couldn’t breathe.

“I… I’ll call back,” I managed, and hung up.

***

When Troy came home the next evening, I was waiting at the kitchen table with the receipts. He stopped short in the doorway, keys still in his hand.

“What is this?” I asked.

I was waiting at the kitchen table with the receipts.