It was the look of someone realizing too late that the person he counted out had been taking notes the whole time.
When it was my turn to testify, I swore in and sat down with my back straight.
Gerald tried the angle I expected.
He asked if I had tracked my husband’s movements. Yes. If I had moved money without informing him. Yes. If I had rented an apartment in secret. Yes. If I had recorded dates, times, and discrepancies in a private notebook. Yes.
Then he leaned in, voice gentle.
“Mrs. Callaway, would you agree that level of monitoring goes beyond what most spouses do?”
I looked at him.
“No,” I said. “I would agree that most spouses don’t need to do it because most spouses aren’t being lied to with that level of repetition.”
A small silence followed.
He asked if I had been angry. Yes. Hurt. Yes. Frightened. Yes.
“Then your actions were emotional.”
“My actions were informed,” I said. “The emotions came with them. They didn’t replace them.”
Sandra’s mouth almost smiled.