She is traveling.
That was what my son‑in‑law, Michael, told me when I knocked on his door that October morning. He smiled the way he always did, that polite, pleasant smile everyone trusted. But there was something in his eyes that did not fit with that smile.
My name is Emily Parker. I am fifty‑five years old, and what I am about to tell you is the most painful truth I have ever lived as a mother.
