The first punch landed clean enough to make my wife smile

 

Rebecca’s eyebrows lifted.

 

“Then this would be a wonderful time to explain.”

 

Claire looked at me.

 

For the first time

all evening, she seemed truly afraid.

 

Not afraid of losing Derek.

 

Not afraid of the house.

 

Afraid of me knowing.

 

“I was going to leave,” she whispered.

 

“You already told me that.”

 

“No. Before Derek.”

 

Derek turned.

 

“What?”

 

Claire ignored him.

 

“Two years ago, after I found the trust documents, I realized something.”

 

“What?”

 

“You were going to leave me first.”

 

I almost laughed.

 

“Where did you get that idea?”

 

“You had

a storage unit.”

 

My chest tightened.

 

“I found the key.”

 

Oh.

 

That.

 

“You followed me,” I said.

 

“Yes.”

 

The storage unit contained old military equipment.

 

Photographs.

 

Letters.

 

A folded American flag that belonged to my teammate Danny Ruiz.

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