home:
Saw Michael is in town. Lily mentioned it. Hope the family lunch was good.
I set the phone down. Ten minutes later came another:
I think about that hotel sometimes.
Once, his uncertainty could have pulled me back into his emotional orbit. I started three responses. The first was:
I don’t.
I erased it as needlessly harsh. Then:
I hope you’re doing well.
Too reassuring. I deleted that too and answered nothing.
He called the following morning. I considered letting voicemail handle it before picking up.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
His voice sounded weary.
“Did you see my message?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
He hesitated. “I wasn’t trying to bother you.”
“I know.”
“I just…”
He sighed. “I keep thinking about how stupid I was.”
Outside my kitchen window the maple was turning green.
“Daniel.”
“I know. I know you don’t want to talk about it.”
“Then why are we?”
“Because there’s something
