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He took a deep, shuddering breath.

“We begged her to leave him, but she always said she didn’t have any place else to go. Steph and I were in college when we got the call that he’d finally killed her. He’s been in prison ever since.”

I blinked away tears, glad he couldn’t see them in the darkness. My husband was an inconsiderate asshole, but at least he’d never been abusive. I had questions, so many questions, but this wasn’t the time.

“I’m sorry Nathan. I’m sorry you went through that. You and your sister especially.”

He gave me a squeeze.

“It all happened a long time ago, but sometimes when I get off balance, the nightmares come back.”

I didn’t need to ask him what had him off balance. He wasn’t the only one feeling disconcerted by what was happening between us. I was just sorry that it had triggered nightmares for him.

“I’m sorry I woke you up,” he whispered.

“Don’t be.”

After hearing about how he grew up and everything that had happened to him, his anti-alcohol stance suddenly made a lot more sense. He wasn’t a petty bureaucrat lording his power over people like I’d initially thought. He was trying to save people in his own awkward way, not understanding that most people were able to drink in moderation.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.” His voice was like sandpaper and it did funny things to my insides.

“Is what happened to you, growing up like you did, the reason you do the work that you do?”

He was silent for a moment.

“I guess, in a roundabout way. I started at the county in another department, reviewing permits for events. Then someone in the Bureau of Alcohol Licensing went on maternity leave like two years ago and they asked me to fill in,” he explained. “She decided to stay home with her kid and not come back, so they offered me the job permanently. It’s like, well, I found a way to reduce the proliferation of alcohol and it became a bit of a crusade.”

I could feel rather than see his grimace. “At least that’s what my supervisor calls it. We butt heads a lot because he feels like I’m too rigid about the rules. He believes that the department’s goal should be to find ways to support businesses in safely serving alcohol, not to keep them from serving it at all.”

He sighed deeply. “I’m starting to realize that he’s right. This job is just too personal to me. My sister keeps suggesting that I apply for a transfer to another department.”

“Will you?”

“Yeah. I did the paperwork on Friday while I was in your café. It’ll probably take a few months for a transfer opportunity to come up, but I’ll be leaving this role eventually.”

I wondered if there was any significance to the timing of his request to transfer, but I didn’t want to assume anything, so I stayed quiet.

***

“God, I hate that guy! He’s taking advantage of her because she doesn’t speak English.”

“Just wait, it’s Colin Firth, things will get better.”

Nathan and I had spent a leisurely day together. We’d woken up early and made love for the second time, then he’d made me breakfast. I could get used to a guy making me breakfast every day.

We spent the day working together in the café, Nathan helping me paint the back wall and screw the legs on the rest of the tables. It was surprisingly fun, and we made a good team. We were nearly done for the day when Brian came in to let Nathan know that the road was cleared, and he was free to travel out of town.

I couldn’t help but be disappointed.

After a brief discussion we agreed that he’d spend one more night with me and drive back to the city in the morning. It was going to be dark soon, plus neither of us seemed to be ready to let the other one go quite yet. Instead, we’d headed upstairs to make dinner and watch “Love, Actually”.

I wasn’t totally sure what would happen after Nathan left, but I wasn’t going to worry about it. If it was meant to work out, it would work out. I didn’t doubt it. If not, I’d chalk it up to a passionate weekend and move on. My silly heart would get over it eventually.

We both jumped as someone pounded on the door to my apartment. Nathan pressed pause on the remote, stopping the movie.

“That’ll be Evelyn,” I guessed.