“Not as husband and wife.”
“No.”
“No forever?”
“I don’t know what forever means anymore.”
Hope rose.
She saw it.
“Don’t do that either.”
“What?”
“Turn uncertainty into a promise.”
The hope died.
She pushed another document across the table.
A proposed temporary parenting arrangement.
“I want more time.”
“We can review it.”
“I want nights.”
“When he’s older and we’ve established consistency.”
“He’s my son.”
“Then be his father.”
The words were not loud.
They didn’t need to be.
I signed the temporary agreement.
Before Corinne left, I asked one last question.
“The note.”
“What about it?”
“‘When you see these statements, you’ll understand everything.’”
“Yes.”
“I thought you meant I’d understand how you caught me.”
“No.”
“What did you mean?”
Her eyes moved toward the timeline.
“I meant you’d understand where you were every time I needed you.”
I stayed in that room alone for almost an hour.
