She returned from her three-day church retreat… But there was a crib in her guest room office.
Susan pulls into the driveway after the three-day women’s retreat, her spirit refreshed from prayer and fellowship. The house looks the same from outside, Mark’s truck parked in its usual spot.
She unlocks the front door and sets her overnight bag down. Something feels different. The hallway seems rearranged.
Susan walks toward her home office where she keeps her Bible study materials and church planning folders. The door is closed, which is unusual.
She opens the door and stops. A white crib sits where her desk used to be. Pink and yellow blankets are folded on a rocking chair she’s never seen before.
Susan: Mark? What is this?
Mark appears from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. His smile looks forced.
Mark: Hey, honey. How was the retreat?
Susan: Mark, why is there a crib in my office?
Mark: Oh that. I’m helping Hughes store some baby furniture. His daughter is moving and needed a place to keep things temporarily.
Susan steps into the room. A changing table sits against the wall with packages of diapers stacked underneath. Everything still has price tags.
Susan: These have yesterday’s date on them. Hughes’ daughter had her baby two years ago.
Mark: Different daughter. The older one. She’s… expecting again.
Susan picks up a tiny yellow onesie. The tags are from the baby store downtown, purchased Saturday morning according to the receipt tucked in the bag.
Susan: You bought these yesterday while I was at retreat?
Mark: Hughes asked me to pick them up. He’s been busy with work.
The doorbell rings. Mark’s face changes, color draining from his cheeks.
Susan: Are you expecting someone?
Mark: Probably just a delivery.
Susan walks to the front door and opens it. A young woman stands on the porch, very pregnant, holding a small suitcase.
Woman: Is Mark here? I need to talk to him.
Susan: I’m his wife, Susan. Can I help you?
The woman looks past Susan toward the hallway where Mark is now standing.
Woman: Mark, we need to discuss the arrangements. The doctor said it could be any day now.
Mark: Ava, this isn’t a good time.
Susan looks between them. Ava appears to be in her early twenties, wearing a maternity dress and looking exhausted.
Susan: Arrangements for what?
Ava: For the baby. Mark said he’d have everything ready by the time I got here.
Susan’s hands start shaking. She grips the doorframe.
Susan: Mark, what is she talking about?
Mark: Ava, you should go home. We’ll discuss this later.
Ava: I don’t have anywhere else to go. You promised you’d take care of everything.
Susan steps aside to let Ava in. The young woman sits heavily on the living room couch.
Susan: How do you know my husband?
Ava: We met at the church singles group last year. Before I knew he was married.
Susan feels the room spinning. She sits down across from Ava.
Susan: The church singles group?
Ava: Mark said he was divorced. He helped me through a really difficult time when my family kicked me out.
Mark: Ava, you’re confused. I never said I was divorced.
Ava: You wore no wedding ring. You talked about living alone. You said your wife had left you.
Susan looks at Mark’s hand. He’s wearing his wedding ring now, but she remembers him complaining about it being too tight lately.
Susan: Mark, is this baby yours?
Mark: Susan, let me explain.
Susan: Just answer the question.
Mark: It’s complicated.
Ava reaches into her purse and pulls out a folded paper.
Ava: I have the paternity test request form. Mark already signed it.
She hands the paper to Susan. Mark’s signature is clear at the bottom, dated two weeks ago.
Susan: You requested a paternity test?
Mark: I had to be sure.
Susan: Sure of what? Whether you’re the father of this girl’s baby?
The front door opens without a knock. Hughes walks in, followed by Pastor Harris.
Hughes: Mark, we need to talk.
Pastor Harris: Susan, I’m sorry to intrude. Hughes called me after he saw Mark at the baby store yesterday.
Susan: Pastor Harris, what’s going on?
Hughes: Mark asked me to lie for him. Said if anyone asked, I needed baby furniture stored.
Pastor Harris: Hughes came to me because he was concerned about Mark’s behavior at church.
Mark: This is private family business.
Pastor Harris: Not when it involves deception within our church community.
Hughes: Mark’s been telling people different stories. Some heard he was divorced, others heard his wife was infertile.
Susan: Infertile? We never even tried to have children.
Ava: He told me you couldn’t have kids and it destroyed your marriage.
Susan stands up, her legs unsteady. She walks back to the nursery and looks around again.
The reality hits her. Every item is new, carefully chosen, expensive. This isn’t temporary storage.
Susan: Mark, you were planning for this baby to live here.
Mark: I was trying to figure things out.
Susan: Figure out how to replace me?
She notices a hospital bag packed by the changing table. Inside are newborn clothes, blankets, and a folder with medical paperwork.
Susan: This has your name as the emergency contact.
Pastor Harris: Mark, the church board needs to discuss your position as youth leader.
Mark: Pastor, please. This isn’t what it looks like.
Pastor Harris: What does it look like, Mark?
Ava: It looks like he lied to everyone. Including me.
Susan finds more papers in the hospital bag. Insurance forms with Mark listed as the father, a birth plan with his signature, and a receipt for a car seat installation.
Susan: You had a car seat installed in your truck.
Mark: I was being responsible.
Susan: Responsible would have been being faithful to your wife.
Hughes: Mark, I’ve known you for fifteen years. I never thought you’d put Susan through this.
Pastor Harris: Susan, do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?
Susan: This is my house.
Pastor Harris: Of course. Mark, I think you should find other accommodations while you and Susan work through this.
Mark: You can’t kick me out of my own home.
Susan: Actually, I can. The house is in my name from my grandmother’s estate.
Mark’s face shows genuine surprise. He apparently hadn’t considered this detail.
Ava: Mark, what am I supposed to do? The baby’s coming soon.
Pastor Harris: Ava, does your family know about the situation?
Ava: They kicked me out when I got pregnant. Mark said he’d take care of me and the baby.
Susan: How old are you, Ava?
Ava: Twenty-two.
Susan: And Mark is forty-six.
The age gap hangs in the air. Pastor Harris makes a note in his phone.
Hughes: Mark, you need to take responsibility for your actions.
Mark: I am taking responsibility. That’s why I set up the nursery.
Susan: Without telling me. While I was at a church retreat, praying for our marriage.
Pastor Harris: Susan, the church will support you through this. We have counseling resources and practical help.
Susan: Thank you, Pastor Harris.
She looks at Ava, who is crying quietly on the couch.
Susan: Ava, you’re welcome to rest here tonight. But Mark needs to leave.
Mark: Susan, please. We can work this out.
Susan: Work what out? You’ve been living a double life.
She picks up his overnight bag from the closet and starts packing his clothes.
Hughes: Mark, I’ll help you find a place to stay.
Pastor Harris: The church board will meet tomorrow evening. Mark, your leadership position is suspended pending this investigation.
Mark: Investigation?
Pastor Harris: Into your conduct with church members and your misrepresentation of your marital status.
Susan: There’s more.
She returns from the bedroom with a box of papers she found under their bed.
Susan: Bank statements showing payments to an apartment complex. Mark’s been paying rent on a second place for eight months.
Ava: That’s where I’ve been living. He said it was his place.
Hughes: Mark, how many lies have you told?
Susan: Here’s a credit card statement. Jewelry purchases, restaurant bills, hotel rooms. All while telling me we needed to budget more carefully.
Pastor Harris: Mark, the deception goes much deeper than we realized.
Mark: I was trying to protect everyone.
Susan: Protect us from what? The truth?
Ava: He told me he loved me. That we’d raise the baby together.
Susan: He told me he was working late shifts and church committee meetings.
The room falls silent except for Ava’s quiet crying.
Pastor Harris: Mark, you’ve betrayed your wife, misled a young woman, and lied to your church community.
Hughes: And you tried to make me an accomplice.
Susan: I want you out of this house tonight.
Mark: Where am I supposed to go?
Susan: You have an apartment, apparently.
Mark: Ava’s living there.
Susan: Then you figure it out. Both of you.
Pastor Harris: Mark, the church will provide temporary housing assistance, but you need to start being honest about your situation.
Susan: The marriage is over.
She says it quietly, but everyone hears.
Mark: Susan, please don’t make any permanent decisions right now.
Susan: You made the permanent decisions. I’m just acknowledging them.
Hughes: Susan, you don’t have to handle this alone.
Pastor Harris: The church community will rally around you.
Susan: Thank you both.
She looks at Ava, who is struggling to stand up from the couch.
Susan: Ava, I’m not angry with you. He lied to both of us.
Ava: I’m sorry, Mrs. Susan. I never meant for this to happen.
Susan: I know, honey.
Pastor Harris: Ava, do you have medical insurance for the delivery?
Ava: Mark said he’d handle it.
Susan: Of course he did.
Hughes: We’ll make sure she gets proper care.
Mark: I will take care of my responsibilities.
Pastor Harris: That includes being honest about your financial situation and your living arrangements.
Susan: And it includes me filing for divorce.
She walks to her purse and pulls out her phone.
Susan: I’m calling my lawyer first thing Monday morning.
Mark: Susan, please think about this.
Susan: I’ve been thinking about it for the last hour. This isn’t a mistake or a lapse in judgment. This is a pattern of lies and deception.
Pastor Harris: Mark, I strongly recommend you seek counseling and spiritual guidance.
Hughes: And legal advice.
Susan: The nursery furniture can stay until after the baby is born. Then I want it gone.
Ava: Thank you.
Susan: After that, I’m turning this back into my office.
Mark: What about us?
Susan: There is no us anymore.
Pastor Harris: Mark, let’s go. You need to start making honest decisions.
Hughes: I’ll help you get your things.
Mark: Susan, I love you.
Susan: You have a strange way of showing love.
She doesn’t look at him as he walks toward the bedroom to pack.
Pastor Harris: Susan, call me if you need anything.
Susan: I will.
Ava: Mrs. Susan, I’m really sorry.
Susan: Take care of yourself and that baby.
The house empties except for Susan and Ava. Susan sits in her rocking chair, the one Mark bought for another woman’s baby.
Susan: When are you due?
Ava: Two weeks.
Susan: Do you have a doctor?
Ava: Dr. Rodriguez at the hospital. Mark was supposed to come to the next appointment.
Susan: You should call him tonight. Let him know your situation has changed.
Ava: What am I going to do?
Susan: You’re going to be a mother. And you’re going to do it honestly, which is more than Mark can say.
The sun is setting through the nursery window. Susan looks around at the room that was supposed to be a secret.
Susan: Ava, there’s a guest bedroom upstairs. You can stay there tonight.
Ava: Are you sure?
Susan: I’m sure. Tomorrow we’ll figure out what comes next.
She helps Ava upstairs and then returns to the nursery. She sits in the rocking chair and calls her sister.
Susan: It’s over. I’ll tell you everything tomorrow.
She hangs up and looks around the room one more time. Tomorrow she’ll start rebuilding her life. Tonight, she’ll pray for strength and wisdom.
The house is quiet now, honest for the first time in months.
