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He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Why are you here?” She shook her head, and he pulled her tighter and kissed her. She responded, and then suddenly they couldn’t get enough of each other as the room faded away, leaving only the two of them.

It seemed to last forever and end too soon, and Milo had never been more content. With Wilda in his arms, he fell asleep.

When the bed moved, he opened his eyes. Wilda was trying to sit up, and he let go of her. She sat on the edge of the bed with her back to him.

He reached for her. “Are you okay?”

She glanced over her shoulder. “I need to go back to Caleb. I don’t want him waking up and finding me gone.”

“But…are you okay?”

She turned to him and placed a hand on his chest. “I’m fine.” She stood and got dressed.

The tone, or perhaps the lack of emotion in her voice, tightened his chest. She left the room without looking at him again. He exhaled sharply, rubbed his chest, then rolled over and tried to get comfortable. But sleep wouldn’t come as he lay in the cold, empty bed.

He fell asleep at some point and woke with a start when his phone alarm went off. He turned it off, then lay back down with a grunt. A few minutes later, he forced himself to get up. He took a quick shower and dressed. Not knowing what awaited him, he headed downstairs.

The door to Wilda’s suite was closed, and the kitchen was empty. The coffeemaker, which she started every morning before he came downstairs, was off. He prepared it, then turned it on. He grabbed several items from the refrigerator and put together a salad for lunch. Then he ate a banana and a blueberry muffin. He needed to leave the house in a few minutes, and Wilda still hadn’t come out of her room.

When he heard the door open and her muffled voice, he filled his travel mug and held his breath. Caleb came into the kitchen alone.

“Hey, bud. Is your mom coming out?”

Caleb shook his head, then struggled to put on his backpack. Milo helped him, then smiled. “Okay, ready to get to school, then?”

Caleb nodded.

Apparently, the dread he’d felt last night was warranted.

Milo wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Caleb today at school, after his big breakthrough over the weekend. So far, he’d been silent.

The morning dragged on, but lunch finally arrived, and Milo decided to stay in the classroom to eat. He needed some time to think without the chatter of children. Rachel had other plans for him. She opened the door and walked up to the desk, an insulated lunch box in her hand. She dragged a chair over to the front of the desk, sat down, and took out a sandwich.

He scowled. “Did it ever occur to you that I want to eat alone today?”

She nodded toward his salad. “What’s that?”

“A salad.”

“What’s in it?”

“Chicken, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, sunflower seeds, onions… Why do you care?”

“It looks good.” She took a bite of her egg salad sandwich. “So, what’s going on?”

“Nothing is going on.”

“Milo, please just talk to me. Dragging things out of you is exhausting, and I don’t have the energy for it today.”

“Too much mediocre sex?”

“We’re not here to talk about me.”

Milo chewed a bite of his salad. He didn’t want to tell Rachel about last night, but he was confused, and a woman’s perspective might help. He set down his fork and took a drink from a water bottle.

“Wilda and I…we…last night, we.” He shook his head. “You know.”

She smiled. “Oh my goodness! Why does that make you want to eat alone today?”