PART 1
“If you want to hide money so badly, go out on the balcony and freeze thinking about the shame you bring to this house.”
That was the last thing Liam said to Nora before locking the glass door.
They lived in a small apartment in Grand Rapids, in a quiet neighborhood where neighbors greeted each other out of habit and also heard everything through their windows. That November night was strangely cold, the kind that seeps in through cracks and makes the furniture creak. It had all started during dinner.
Gwen, Liam’s older sister, had arrived from Petoskey with a bag of fresh trout, farm cheese, and that heavy authority of someone who believes that because they are family they can have an opinion on everything. Nora spent the afternoon cooking. She prepared trout with garlic, lemon, yellow pepper, and white rice. She set a beautiful table, brought out the nice glasses, and even bought sweet bread because she knew Gwen liked it.
But nothing was enough.
“Oh, Nora, what a shame about the fish,” said Gwen, barely taking a bite. “In my town, this is fried properly, with real lard and salt. The way you made it, it looks like hospital food.”
Nora lowered her gaze. Liam watched his wife crunch her fingers on the napkin, but said nothing.
Gwen had always been like that, strict, bossy, and overprotective. Since his mother became a widow, Gwen had become almost a second mother to Liam.
After dinner, Nora went to wash the dishes. Gwen waited until the tap water started running and leaned towards her brother.
“Liam, open your eyes. Your little wife is taking your money,” Gwen whispered.
He let out an awkward laugh. “Don’t start, Gwen. Come on.”
“I’m not making this up. I heard her on the phone,” Gwen insisted. “She was saying, ‘Mom, just wait a little while, I’ve saved up a bit more and I’ll send you the rest.’ Where do you think that money comes from?”
Liam felt a blow to his chest. That same night, when Nora fell asleep, he checked her bank app. He found three transfers, two for 2,500 dollars and one for 3,000 dollars, all to an account he didn’t recognize.
The next morning he tried to ask calmly. “Nora, does your mom need money?”
She turned pale. “Why do you ask?”
That reaction was enough to ignite him. “To whom did you send 8,000 dollars?”
Nora opened her mouth, but did not answer as her eyes filled with tears. Gwen appeared at the door as if she had been waiting for that moment.
“See? I told you so,” Gwen said. “These women pretend to be saints, but their family comes first.”
Nora cried and pleaded, “Liam, please, let me explain.”
But he was no longer listening. Shame, doubt, and Gwen’s poison burned inside him.
“Go out onto the balcony,” he ordered. “When you’re ready to tell the truth, come back in.”
Nora looked at him as if she didn’t recognize him, then she left. Liam closed the door and he turned the lock.
At 3 a.m., he woke up with a horrible feeling. He reached out and touched Nora’s cold pillow. The room was dark, but through the curtain, he saw a shrunken shadow on the balcony.
He got up to open the door for her. Then he saw something that froze his blood.
From the apartment door to the balcony there was a wet trail, as if someone had entered soaking wet and walked to where his wife was. Liam ran, unlocked the door with trembling hands, and opened it.
The balcony was empty. All that remained was a footprint on the railing and, below, next to a tree, a white lump that seemed not to move.
Liam lowered his gaze and felt as if the world were splitting in two, without imagining that that night was only just beginning.
