I saved my sister by donating a kidney; then I discovered that I was having an affair with my husband, so I invited them to a dinner they would never forget.

The surgery went well.

Recovery is not.

Meanwhile, Clara began to improve quickly. That was the strange thing about his illness. For months she had streaks where she looked almost herself. With enough energy to get out, smile, fix, behave normally. Then he relapsed and looked terrible. And then he recovered. By the time he was transplanted, he was at his worst.

Now I know that also explains how he could have had an affair while his health worsened.

The message was Clara’s.

I discovered it by chance.

About five weeks after the surgery, he was in the kitchen when he vibrated a phone over the counter. Evan and I had the same phone and almost the same case because he had asked for two identical months earlier and joked that we were now one of those annoying married couples.

Our daughter’s school had been texting that week about an excursion form, so when she vibrated the phone, I grabbed him without looking, assuming it was mine.

I honestly thought I was reading it wrong.

It wasn’t mine.

It was from Evan.

The message was Clara’s.

“Honey, when are we going to spend another night in a hotel? I miss you.”

I honestly thought I was reading it wrong.

Then I opened it.

Jokes about how easy it was because I trusted both of us.

There were months of messages.