“Smells good.”
“Thank you.”
He lowered his voice.
“You ready?”
“No.”
“Me neither.”
We stood there for a moment, two people waiting for a storm neither could prevent.
At six, Jenna arrived.
She wore a cream-colored blouse and dark trousers. Her hair was neatly styled, and she carried a small box of chocolates.
“Hi, Carol!”
She kissed my cheek.
“I brought these for dessert.”
“Thank you, Jenna.”
She looked at Daniel.
“Hey, babe.”
He nodded.
“Hey.”
She seemed to notice the distance in his voice, but she smiled anyway.
“Long shift yesterday?”
“Something like that.”
She glanced between us.
“Is everything okay?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Mark came downstairs a few minutes later, adjusting the cuff of his shirt.
He stopped when he saw Daniel.
Then he looked at Jenna.
Then at me.
For one brief second, all the color seemed to drain from his face.
He knew.
Maybe it was something in our expressions. Maybe it was the fact that Daniel wasn’t making his usual jokes. Maybe he had finally understood that the silence he had mistaken for ignorance was something else entirely.
