A Man With No Shoes Joseph Linneman Saenz

Full of innocence, I lay in my bed on a Saturday morning, relaxing after a difficult week at school. Suddenly I was awakened as the intercom in my room crackled to life. My parents often used the intercom, but calls this early in the morning were unusual. Something was not right. I heard my mother's voice. "Come downstairs, we need to talk about something very important." I hoped she just wanted me to finish raking the yard. I tried to relax as I walked down the stairs. Surely this wasn't anything to fear.

As I walked into the living room I saw my father sitting on the sofa, eyes downcast, his face frozen in an expression of shame. My mom began to explain the situation, "Your father..." But he interrupted her. "I'm having an affair." My mind flashed back to the previous year, when my family had traveled to Germany. My father had sent me out into the hotel hallway every night so he could make calls that he said were "for work." I believed him the first time, but later in the trip I began to suspect that he was cheating on my mother. I told my older brother, but we quickly dismissed the idea. "He would never do that," we assured each other. Telling no one else, we put...