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had cornered Sarah after a soccer practice. He never touched her but backed her up against a video game and screamed in her face. My mom said his face was beet red, inches from Sarah’s, and even when tears were streaming down her cheeks, he didn’t back off. My mom had to take the children to the bathroom so they didn’t see it, and my dad had to pull Anders away from Sarah. Sarah was terrified of Anders, and my parents and I had grown more and more concerned for her safety.
    I walked through the doors and into the bustling indoor sports center. I scanned the area for Sarah and the boys. Buzzers were going off as games were wrapping up, and adults and children shuffled around looking for their fields as new games were starting. Multiple soccer balls were rolling on the beaten up linoleum floor as children warmed up with their teammates, the smell of popcorn and sweat permeated the air. I spotted Will and Sam, but no Sarah.
    I walked up t o them. “Hey, buddies. Where’s Mommy?” I asked.
    Their heads turned and their faces instantly lit up. Sam said, “Aunt Sember! What are you doin’ here?”
    “I came here to see you two of course.” I patted his curly, blond locks. “Holy cow buddy, what did you do, grow two inches since I saw you last?” His face lit up with pride. Sam was two years younger than Will, but now at five years old he was only about an inch shorter than his big brother. “Where’s Mommy?” I asked. With as protective as Sarah was with Sam and Will, warning bells were going off in my head. It was out of character for her to leave the kids alone.
    “She said she had to go potty and to stay put,” Sam said, pointing straight down to the ground with his hands, mimicking a gesture I’d seen my sister do a million times.
    Then, from behind me, I heard Sarah’s voice. “Hey, glad you made it.”
    “No pr oblem,” I said turning around. Then, I noticed something in her demeanor was off, and her eyes were red. “What’s wrong?” I whispered.
    Before she had a chance to respond, Sam slammed himself into her hip. “Momma! You’re back!”
    She grunted and wrapped an arm around him. “Of course I’m back, silly. Where else would I be? I said I just needed to go potty,” she said.
    “Why you cryin’, M omma?” He looked up at her with his big blue eyes, tilting his head, innocently confused. “You didn’t have a n’accident did ya? Did Daddy have to go, too?” he asked.
    “Oh I was just sneezing—I think I’m catching Will’s cold, that ’s all,” she said.  “And, Daddy couldn’t remember where the potties were, can you believe that? He had an emergency,” she said.
    Anders had long suffered from irritable bowel syndrome. Earlier on in their relationship, Sarah learned the hard way that garlic was a trigger for Anders when she almost killed him with a pot of homemade potato soup. She misread the recipe and added an entire bulb of garlic instead of a clove. Consequently, he spent the rest of the night in the bathroom. So, the kids knew that if Anders said he needed to go the bathroom then they needed to get out of the way.
    “Daddy’s so silly.” He giggled. “He should have gone potty before he left the house.”
    “I think you’re right.” She looked down to Sam and smiled then looked over to Will, “You’re all set to go in, buddy. Field B.”
    “Ok, M ommy,” Will said. He grabbed his ball and ran out onto the field.
    She looked at Sam. “You sit right here with me, ok baby?” She patted the bleacher next to her.
    He scooted up next to her. “Momma, can I play with your phone?” he asked . She reached into her pocket and handed it over without a moment’s thought.
    I waited until Sam was preoccupied in his game. “So, what did he do?” I asked, assuming Anders was to blame for her appearance.
    Sarah leaned into me. “He grabbed my arm and was pulling me aside. He was starting to cause a scene, and I didn’t want to scare the kids so I told them I was