{"id":3380,"date":"2026-02-19T07:28:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T07:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/?p=3380"},"modified":"2026-02-19T07:28:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T07:28:57","slug":"kids-tell-the-truth-adults-try-to-bury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/?p=3380","title":{"rendered":"Kids tell the truth adults try to bury."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I saw Daddy helping her get the spiders off.\u201d<\/p>\n

My stomach dropped. \u201cHelping her how, Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

He frowned, trying to remember. \u201cHe was under there too. He said shhh. The spiders were black and lacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Black and lacy.<\/p>\n

I felt the blood drain from my face.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich lady?\u201d I asked gently.<\/p>\n

Ben pointed across the room. Near the bar stood a tall woman in a fitted black dress, laughing a little too loudly at something my husband had said earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat one.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked over at my husband. He wouldn\u2019t meet my eyes.<\/p>\n

I stood up slowly, Ben still in my arms, and walked toward them. My husband stiffened as I approached.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything okay?\u201d he asked, forcing a smile.<\/p>\n

I held his gaze. \u201cBen says he saw you under the table. Helping with\u2026 spiders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman\u2019s smile faltered.<\/p>\n

My husband let out an awkward chuckle. \u201cHe\u2019s four. You know how kids imagine things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head. \u201cNo. Daddy said not to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

The silence around us thickened.<\/p>\n

A few nearby guests glanced over.<\/p>\n

I looked at my husband, the man I had trusted for eight years. At his father\u2019s funeral reception. In a room full of family and business associates.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot here,\u201d he muttered under his breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d I replied calmly. \u201cNot here.\u201d<\/p>\n

I turned and walked out of the restaurant, Ben clinging to my shoulder. I didn\u2019t cry. Not yet.<\/p>\n

But as the heavy doors closed behind me, one thing was clear:<\/p>\n

Children don\u2019t invent black lace spiders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201c\u2026I saw Daddy helping her get the spiders off.\u201d My stomach dropped. \u201cHelping her how, Ben?\u201d He frowned, trying to remember. \u201cHe was under there too. He said shhh. The … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3382,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3380\/revisions\/3382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readupdatemystory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}