He nodded.
“I won’t.”
The next morning, I went out alone.
I toured a shared workspace.
I spoke to local vendors.
I looked at event spaces.
I called several of my clients.
I even handled a delivery problem from a sidewalk in a city I’d been prepared to hate.
And slowly, something happened.
I realized moving didn’t have to mean disappearing.
I could build something there.
My work could come with me.
My friendships could survive distance.
Olive could make new friends.
Ben could have a better schedule.
But none of it mattered if we repeated the same mistake.
That night, I put my notes on the hotel table.
“If we’re considering this, we’re doing it together.”
Ben sat across from me.
“Okay.”
“Olive finishes the school year.”
“Agreed.”
“I finish every event I’ve already booked.”
“Agreed.”
“We budget for rebuilding my business.”
“Yes.”
“And I decide how that transition happens.”
“Yes.”
“Your schedule stays what you negotiated.”
“Yes.”
“And if the hospital starts eating our family alive again, you don’t solve it alone.”
He looked at me.
“I bring it to you first.”
“Exactly.”
Then he surprised me.
“The start date can move.”
I stared at him.
“You can delay it?”
