"Because Maya is scared."
Isaiah's eyes narrowed.
"Of me?"
"Of losing people."
That landed differently.
Thomas continued.
"She already lost you once."
Isaiah looked away.
"Then she lost the idea of you coming back."
Thomas spoke carefully.
"And now you're back, and she thinks somebody else has to disappear."
Isaiah sat on the edge of the bed.
Thomas remained standing.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," Isaiah admitted.
It was the first honest sentence he had offered Thomas.
Thomas nodded.
"Neither do I."
Isaiah looked up.
"You have my wife."
Thomas flinched.
"That's not how I think about her."
"Convenient."
"I mean it."
Isaiah stood.
"You sleep beside her."
"Yes."
"You wake up in my house."
"Yes."
"My daughter calls you Dad."
Thomas's eyes filled.
"Yes."
Isaiah walked toward him.
"You lived the life I was trying to get back to."
Thomas did not move.
"I know."
"No, you don't."
"You're right."
Isaiah's jaw tightened.
Thomas continued.
"But I know I would hate me if I were you."
That stopped him.
Thomas swallowed.
"I think about that every day."
Isaiah stared.
"Every day?"
"Since you came back."
Isaiah laughed bitterly.
"Four whole days. Must be rough."
Thomas nodded.
"I deserve that too."
Isaiah turned away.
Thomas waited.
Finally Isaiah said, "Did you love her while she still thought I was alive?"
Thomas answered immediately.
"No."
"Did you want her?"
"Not then."
"When?"
"After the memorial."
Isaiah's shoulders stiffened.
"We didn't date until almost a year later."
"How noble."
Thomas's patience cracked slightly.
"What do you want me to say?"
Isaiah turned.
"The truth."
"The truth is I love her."
Isaiah's face hardened.
Thomas continued before fear could stop him.
"And I love Maya."
Isaiah moved closer.
"Careful."
"I'm not claiming either of them belongs to me."