For years, my wife and my mom couldn’t get along, and my wife was crying every night. So we cut contact completely. Then one day, I borrowed my wife’s old tablet. She’d forgotten to log out of her email. My blood ran cold when I saw dozens of emails addressed to my mom. Most were unsent.

She asked how my mom was. She apologized. One draft read, “I know I wasn’t easy. But I want our child to know both grandmothers.” The next morning, I drove to my mom’s place alone, and I handed her printouts of the emails.

It took time, but eventually, they met again. Now, they text and send each other photos of their garden plants. My wife still doesn’t know I saw those emails