An emotional woman standing in an office | Source: Midjourney
He replied with confetti emojis and said that he’d be ready with a bottle of wine and dinner when I got home.
Success was sweet, of course, but it came with a sour aftertaste. Longer hours, late dinners, and laundry that never folded itself. I stopped wearing mascara because I couldn’t be bothered to scrub it off at night. I stopped taking lunch breaks and would eat at my desk while still typing away.
My inbox never slept, and neither did I.
A woman sitting at her desk and working | Source: Midjourney
One Tuesday evening, as I reheated my third takeout meal for the week, Greg looked up from the kitchen island.
“You’re doing too much, Lizzie,” he said. “Let’s get a maid. We need someone who can… help out.”
“A what?” I blinked at him, still holding my fork while the microwave brought the Indian leftovers back to life.
“A maid, a helper. My mom’s friend’s daughter is looking for a job. She’s young, polite. I thought… why not?”
A container of food on a counter | Source: Midjourney
Now, Greg came from a long line of “a woman’s place is in the home” men. Once, just before we headed out to dinner, Greg was busy changing while I vacuumed, fully dressed.
“You make it look good, babe,” he said, pointing to my heels. “Wow.”
Since then, he’d been trying to change… He’d been helping out more.
So this? This offer? It almost knocked me over.
A close up of a vacuum cleaner | Source: Midjourney
“You shouldn’t have to come home from work and clean, Lizzie,” he nodded. “I can do the easy things when I get in… but the construction site’s been gruelling lately, my back is constantly sore. We need someone to take care of the deeper cleaning and all the laundry.”
I was so grateful to hear him say this that I almost cried.
“I’ll take care of everything, my love,” he said. “Just… say yes.”
A construction site | Source: Midjourney
“Okay,” I agreed. “Let’s do it.”
Maria started the following Monday. I barely saw her. She came home during my work hours and left polite sticky notes on the fridge.
“Washed the bedding!”
“Scrubbed the oven. Have marinated chicken for dinner. Just throw it in.”
“Hope your big conference went well!”
Colored post-it notes on a fridge | Source: Midjourney
It was like a ghost that left everything better than it found it.
For the first time in months, I exhaled. The house smelled like lemon, my clothes magically reappeared in drawers, perfectly ironed. The house stayed clean and fresh.
It felt like we were finally getting a rhythm back.
Clothing on hangers | Source: Midjourney
And then I started sleepwalking again.
It had been years since I’d experienced that pesky problem, since high school, really. But one morning, I woke up with bruises on my shins and my robe tangled in the hallway.
“Stress can trigger old habits, Elizabeth,” my doctor said. “That’s what’s happening right now. You mentioned a new promotion at work? I’m sure that’s come with its fair share of issues.”
“It has come with a larger workload,” I agreed. “Longer hours, more meetings, and the admin of paperwork…”
A close up of a doctor | Source: Midjourney
“I can give you medication, Elizabeth,” he said. “But I don’t want that to be our first step. You’ve conquered this before, so it’s all about training your brain to get back into that system. I’m going to suggest a sleep journal.”
I nodded, making notes as he spoke.
“And if you can,” he added. “Try motion-detecting cameras. Sometimes just seeing what happens helps you understand the pattern.”
A woman sitting in a doctor’s room | Source: Midjourney
Greg didn’t know. And I didn’t want to worry him and have him question my promotion. So I went out on a lunch break and bought two small, discreet cameras, one for our bedroom and one for the hallway.
Nothing fancy. Just enough to catch me if I wandered in the night.
But I didn’t expect to catch him… Greg.
Two cameras in a box | Source: Midjourney
It was Friday. I had the afternoon off, finally. I curled up on the couch with leftover Thai food and decided to review the footage. Greg was still at work, so there was no need to hide anything.
I hadn’t sleepwalked in three days, my sleep journal was sounding more normal, but I wanted to double-check before updating my doctor.
The hallway cam showed Greg coming home around noon. It was odd. He usually worked until five or six. I tilted my head, curious.
Leftover food on a coffee table | Source: Midjourney
Twenty minutes later, Maria walked in, hands full of groceries.
They were both laughing. Not like coworkers, or an employer-employee relationship… but like friends.
I paused the video. Then rewound it. Then watched it again.
Maria set the groceries down. Greg fussed around the kettle and set down a cup of tea in front of her. She touched his arm when she laughed. She leaned in too close.
And then… they hugged.
Not a side hug. Not a quick pat. But a long, intimate, familiar hug.
I felt something cold crawl up my spine.
No. No, it couldn’t be that. I refused to jump to conclusions. Maybe she was upset. Maybe he was comforting her. Or… thanking her for keeping our house afloat.
A woman sitting on a couch and using her phone | Source: Midjourney
But then I clicked on another clip.
Greg and Maria standing in the hallway. Greg brushing her hair back from her face. Maria touching his chest.
Then they walked out of frame.
That night, I moved around in autopilot. I made a pasta salad and grilled chicken for supper, grateful for something to do. I did the dishes and waited for Greg. We sat down and ate together.
“My back is killing me,” Greg said. “I’m going to take something for it and sleep it off after dinner.”
Other than that? Silence.
Food on a kitchen counter | Source: Midjourney
