I smiled.
“Adult stuff.”
She nodded and returned to her project.
Ben barely touched dinner.
After Olive went upstairs, he followed me into the bedroom.
“Can we talk?”
I turned.
“Yes.”
He stood several feet away.
“I should’ve told you.”
“Yes.”
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
“I was afraid.”
I looked at him.
“Of me?”
“Of losing the chance.”
“What chance?”
“To have a normal life.”
That caught me off guard.
He sat on the edge of the bed.
“I’ve spent eleven years telling myself the next year would be easier. After residency. After the promotion. After we paid off this. After Olive got older.”
He rubbed his face.
“And then one day I realized I was still saying ‘after.'”
I didn’t answer.
“I missed her science fair last year.”
“You had surgery.”
“I know.”
“You saved someone’s life.”
“I know.”
“Then why do you look guilty?”
“Because I also missed Olive looking for me in the audience.”
