After 52 years of marriage, my husband put me on a plane without telling me where we were going. In the middle of the flight, he squeezed my hand tightly and whispered, “After today, you will never see your children again.” I was terrified of the man I’ve lived with my whole life, not realizing what he meant…

Until last Saturday.

Robert woke up earlier than usual. When I went into the kitchen, he was already dressed. He had his favorite blue shirt on, and he was holding two flights.

• Mary, get ready. We’re leaving.

I stared at the tickets.

• Where are we going?

• You’ll know when we get here.

I laughed nervously.

Robert, we’re almost eighty years old. We’re already a little old for mysterious adventures.

But he didn’t laugh.

That was the first thing that alerted me.

In the last few weeks, our family has behaved strangely.

Our three children — David, Emily and Michael — used to call us almost every day. But their calls have been getting shorter lately. When I asked what was going on, they said they were just very busy.

Several times I got Robert behind quiet phone conversations with them. It was worth me to enter the room as he immediately completed the call.