I looked at him.
“I’m not.”
“Good,” he said, and walked straight to bed.
I remained standing in the dark for a moment.
Then I went into the kitchen, opened my laptop, and pulled up our joint accounts, mortgage records, utility bills, and everything else I would need if the relationship was truly ending. Somewhere between the savings account and the homeowners insurance documents, I remembered Christmas at his parents’ house. Parentingbooks
Elaine had taken me aside while everyone else argued over a board game in the living room. She touched my arm gently and said, “I hope that when you’re ready, you’ll give David the chance to make things official. He loves you very much.”
At the time, I smiled and assumed she was being old-fashioned. Sitting alone at the kitchen table, I realized she had not been guessing.
She had been repeating something she had been told.
I called her.
She answered after four rings, her voice heavy with sleep.
“Sarah? Is everything okay?”
“I need to ask you something,” I said. “And I need you to answer honestly.”
Silence followed.
Then she said, “All right.”
I told her what David had said during dinner, repeating his exact words. When I finished, she remained silent for so long that I wondered whether the call had disconnected. LanguageResources
