“We’re fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
Caleb kissed her.
“I know I’ve been gone a lot.”
Nia said nothing.
“I’m trying to make some changes after this quarter.”
“You’ve said that before.”
“I know.”
Caleb looked down.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t mean it.”
Nia nearly told him.
She would later remember that moment more painfully than almost any other.
Because it was her last clean exit.
She could have stopped the story there.
Instead, she said, “You should finish packing.”
At eight fifty-eight, Caleb zipped his bag.
At nine three, he stood at the front door.
Nia fixed his collar.
“You look good.”
“So do you.”
“I’m wearing leggings.”
“You look good in leggings.”
She smiled despite herself.
He kissed her.
“Thursday.”
“Thursday.”
Caleb walked away.
Isaiah was cutting the lawn across the yard.
Nia waited.
Caleb’s car disappeared.
She counted to ten.
Then twenty.
Then she looked at Isaiah.
He had already stopped the mower.
Neither smiled.
There was too much tension for that.
Nia gave him a small gesture.
Come here.
Isaiah walked toward the porch.
“You sure?” he asked quietly.
Nia looked down the street.
“Come inside.”
Isaiah glanced toward the corner.
“His flight is at eleven?”
“Eleven forty-five.”
“And he’s gone until Thursday?”
Nia opened the door wider.
“Yes.”
Isaiah stepped inside.
The door closed.
For the first time since their secret relationship began, there was no clock hanging over them.
No expectation that Caleb might return in twenty minutes.
No rushed conversation near the garage.
No pretending they had accidentally crossed paths.
Caleb was supposed to be hundreds of miles away before lunch.
Nia walked toward the kitchen.
Isaiah followed.
For a moment, neither knew what to say.
That surprised Nia.
They had been building toward this morning for weeks.
Now that it had arrived, the reality felt heavier than the fantasy.
Isaiah leaned against the counter.
“We don’t have to do this.”
Nia folded her arms.
“You already came inside.”
“That doesn’t mean anything has to happen.”
She stared at him.
“Are you getting nervous?”
“I’ve been nervous for three months.”
“About Caleb?”
“About this.”
Isaiah gestured between them.
“What do you want, Nia?”
She looked away.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s a problem.”
“I know.”
“You say you’re miserable with him, but every time I ask whether you’re leaving, you change the subject.”
“Leaving a nine-year marriage isn’t like canceling a gym membership.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
“I built a life with him.”
“And you’re inviting me into that life when he leaves.”
The words landed harder than Nia expected.
She turned toward Isaiah.
“Why are you acting like I’m the only person doing something wrong?”
“I’m not.”
“Then stop judging me.”
“I’m not judging you.”