Every quiet dinner was one.
Every time he noticed I was withdrawing and chose irritation instead of accountability was one.
For two weeks, Evan had watched the damage spread and decided preserving his pride mattered more than telling me the truth.
“I’m sorry,” Nick said.
I handed his phone back.
“You told him not to do it.”
“I should’ve told you.”
I considered that.
“Maybe.”
He flinched slightly.
I wasn’t trying to punish him either.
I simply didn’t have the energy to make everyone feel better before I’d even understood how I felt myself.
A police officer eventually came by to ask Nick a few more questions.
There had been several witnesses at the bar, along with security cameras.
What happened wasn’t going to become a contest between Nick’s memory and Evan’s.
Before the officer left, I asked where Evan was.
He had been taken to a holding facility to be processed.
“Is he asking for me?”
The officer gave me a careful look.
“He’s asked whether his wife has been contacted.”
I nodded.
That was all I needed to know.
I did not go there.
I drove Nick home after he was discharged, then returned to our apartment shortly after sunrise.
The kitchen looked exactly as it had two weeks earlier.
Same island.
Same mugs.
Same gray Seattle light pushing through the windows.
Except the beer bottle was gone, and so was the woman who had once believed every difficult conversation needed to end with both people choosing the marriage again.
I made coffee for one.
At 11:18 that morning, my phone rang from a local number.
I knew before answering.
“Lauren.”
Evan’s voice sounded rough.
I said nothing.
“Did Nick call you?”
“Yes.”
“Then you know he blew everything out of proportion.”
My eyes closed.
Even now.
Not hello.
Not I’m sorry.
Not is Nick okay.
“I saw the messages,” I said.
Silence.
A long one.
“What messages?”
“The ones where you told Nick you were going to lie to me.”
His breathing changed.
“Lauren, listen.”
“I’m listening.”
“I wasn’t lying.
Not exactly.
The guys make comments all the time.
You know how people talk.
I was trying to make a point.”
