“Always.”
She pulled her suitcase down the driveway as dawn started lifting behind the houses.
I watched her drive away and felt that ordinary ache you feel when someone you love is gone for a few days.
I did not know it was grief arriving early.
For four days, she sent just enough to keep me comfortable.
Pictures of the beach.
A drink with a pineapple wedge.
A blurred shot of Victoria dancing near a pool.
Elise standing under palm trees with both arms in the air.
Her messages were short.
Hot here.
Miss you.
Going out tonight with the girls.
I replied with hearts and jokes.
I ate takeout.
I finished some work.
I slept on my side of the bed and looked at her pillow without suspicion.
On the final night, I woke at 3:07 a.m.
with a strange pressure in my chest.
The room was quiet.
The street outside was still.
My phone had no new message from her.
I thought about texting, but I stopped myself.
I did not want to be insecure.
I did not want to punish her for having fun.
So I turned the screen down.
Later, I would wonder if my body knew before my mind did.
Margaret came home Thursday afternoon.
She came through the door wearing a loose shirt over shorts, her hair braided close to her scalp, her skin warm from the sun.
I expected her to drop her suitcase and fall into my arms.
Instead, she hugged me quickly.
Not coldly.
Not cruelly.
Just quickly.
Like the hug was an obligation she wanted to complete before something leaked out of her.
“How was it?” I asked.
“Amazing,” she said.
“Exhausting, but amazing.”
“Tell me everything.”
She smiled without showing her teeth.
“I need to shower first.”
I carried her suitcase upstairs.
She stayed in the bathroom for forty minutes.
When she came out, she smelled like my body wash instead of her perfume.
At dinner, I asked about the resort.
She said it was nice.
I asked where they ate.
She said different places.
I asked what they did at night.
“Just girl stuff,” she said.
The words were simple, but the tone had a locked door inside it.
I laughed lightly.
“That mysterious?”
Her eyes snapped up.
