Chapter 23
“You do.”
“I thought keeping Marcus’s confidence was loyalty.”
“It was.”
He looked surprised.
“But loyalty without honesty can still hurt people.”
He nodded.
“I understand that now.”
“I hope you do.”
He glanced toward the living room, where Marcus was helping Emily arrange her science project on the coffee table.
“I should have encouraged him to tell you sooner.”
“Yes.”
“I kept thinking the right time would come.”
“The right time rarely arrives on its own.”
David smiled faintly.
“I’ll remember that.”
He shook my hand, then left.
In the kitchen, I found Marcus standing over the sink with one hand braced against the counter.
“You shouldn’t be standing,” I said.
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t start.”
He turned.
“Sorry.”
I brought him to the table.
His right hand trembled as he reached for the glass of water I poured.
I did not take it from him.
I waited until he had it securely.
That mattered.
Not because the glass was important.
Because he needed to know I was beside him, not replacing him.
“What happens after tomorrow?” I asked.
“Assuming everything goes as planned, I’ll spend a few days here. Then physical therapy.”
“And work?”
“Leave.”
“Paid?”
“Partially.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
He stared at the table.
“I may not be able to go back to surgery.”
“I know.”
“I keep thinking that if the operation works, I’ll get my old life back.”
“You may not.”
“I know.”
“But you may get a different life.”
He looked up.
“What if I don’t want a different one?”
“Then you’ll have time to grieve the one you lost.”
He swallowed.
“And you?”
“What about me?”
“What if you don’t want a different marriage?”
The question was so vulnerable that I could not answer immediately.
“I don’t want the marriage we had this past year,” I said.
He nodded, accepting the pain.
“I know.”
“I want ours. The one where you come home. The one where you tell me when you’re afraid. The one where we eat dinner even if the food is cold.”
His eyes filled.
“I want that too.”
“Then wanting it isn’t enough.”
“No.”
“We have to build it again.”
“I will.”
“You can’t promise perfection.”
“I won’t.”
“You can promise honesty.”
“I can do that.”
I reached across the table.
He placed his hand in mine.
The next morning, I woke before the alarm.
For a few seconds, I did not remember where I was.