“What?”
“Not deciding whether you love him. You already do. Deciding whether trust can be rebuilt.”
“When did you become wise?”
“I watched a lot of therapy videos during maternity leave.”
“Emily, there’s something else.”
“What?”
“You do disappear into work.”
“I know.”
“I’m not saying that caused this.”
“I know.”
“But you have been exhausted for a year.”
“I know.”
“You missed Dad’s birthday dinner.”
“I know.”
“You answered emails through Thanksgiving dessert.”
“I remember.”
“And every time anyone asks whether you’re okay, you say the merger will settle down soon.”
“The merger closed eleven months ago.”
“Yes.”
I’d been so focused on Michael’s failure to communicate that I hadn’t wanted to look at my own. But marriages rarely collapse because each person committed identical mistakes. Sometimes two different kinds of avoidance simply meet in the middle. Sarah reached across the table.
