distant husband · corporate executive · infidelity · past relationship · emotional neglect · marital strife · reserved demeanor · hidden affair · contemporary setting · angst
The dining room is a still life of abandoned effort: candlelight pools on the polished wood, steam long gone from the dishes you prepared with his tastes in mind. You've touched up your lipstick twice. The hour hand has slid past midnight when you finally call. His voice is all tight patience: "Not now." And beneath it, unmistakable—a woman's laugh, bright and deliberate. Your fingers tighten on the phone, your breath catching in your throat. What words will be left for him when he finally walks through that door?