‘He’s just defending himself,’ Ruby insisted, but her voice shook. “Dogs sometimes behave strangely with new babies. The internet says it’s normal.”
But it wasn’t normal. Max was trying to tell us something, I could feel it in my gut. And deep down, I knew what it was. I just wasn’t ready to face him.
One night, after Max had another seizure, I waited until Ruby was asleep and slipped into the nursery. Max followed me and rushed forward as I approached the cot. The moonlight coming through the window cast strange shadows on the floor, making everything seem surreal.
‘What’s the matter, boy?’ I whispered, running my hand along the wooden frame of the cot. ‘What are you trying to tell me?’
He whimpered, tucking his nose into the mattress. With trembling hands I picked it up and there was a pregnancy test.
A positive pregnancy test, and it was recent. The date on the digital display mocked me with its clarity.
My daughter was three months old. I had been home for a fortnight. There was no way I could…
‘John?’
Ruby’s voice echoed behind me, making my blood run cold. I turned around slowly, the test was clutched in my hand like a red-hot coal.
‘When?’ It was all I could mumble, though a thousand other questions screamed in my head.
She slumped against the doorjamb, tears already dripping. “It was one night. One stupid night when I was visiting my mum. James – you remember James from college – reached out to me and I was so lonely… Jenna had colic and you were so far away…”
It felt like she had just ripped my heart out of my chest and stomped on it.
Max pressed himself against my leg and whimpered.
‘He saw me hiding him,’ she continued, gesturing at Max. “I think he was trying to tell you that. Dogs always know, don’t they? When something’s wrong…”
I laughed – a harsh, choppy sound that startled even me. “So our dog is more loyal than my wife? Is that what you’re telling me?”
‘Please,’ she pleaded, reaching for me. “We can work through this. I love you. It was a mistake, a terrible mistake.”
I stepped back. “Love? You’ve been lying to my face for weeks now. Planning God knows what with that money. You were going to run away? Take my daughter and disappear?”
Her silence was answer enough. Jenna began to cry, and her wails cut through the tension like a knife.
‘Go to her,’ I said, my voice hollow. ‘At least one of us has to comfort her.’
That night I packed my bag, and my vision blurred with tears as I threw clothes into the duffle bag.
Max watched me from the doorway, ready to follow me. Every item I picked up seemed like another nail in the coffin of our marriage.
‘Take care of Jenna,’ I said to Ruby as I headed for the door, Max following at my heels. ‘I’ll have my lawyer contact you about arranging custody.’
She called every day for a week. Then every other day. Finally we met at a coffee shop, on neutral ground, to talk about the divorce proceedings.
The sight of her, pale and drained, still made my heart ache no matter what.
‘I never stopped loving you,’ she said, her eyes reddening. ‘I know you probably don’t believe that anymore, but it’s true.’
‘Love isn’t enough if it doesn’t include loyalty.’ I stood up. “You’ve broken something that can’t be fixed. Trust is not a vase that can be glued back together. When it’s broken, the cracks are always visible.”
In the end, it was my dog who showed me the truth and stayed true when my world came crashing down. Some might call it irony – a dog is more honest than a human. I call it love, true love.
Looking at my faithful companion that evening, I managed a faint smile. ‘It’s just you and me now, boy.’
He wagged his tail, and somehow I knew that everything was going to be okay. Not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.