Chapter 4
Daniel had promised he would never drive Claire home again.
Less than two hour later, his hand closed around his car keys.
Wind drove water across the marble floor.
Daniel caught the door before it closed.
"Claire, stop."
She turned with rain already shining on one shoulder of her coat.
"No. I don't want to cause another argument. Maya's already upset. I can walk."
She reached for the door again.
Daniel caught her wrist before she stepped outside.
"Don't be ridiculous."
Then he turned to me as if I were the one forcing him into an impossible choice.
"We'll all go. We'll drop Claire off, then go home."
The elevator to the hotel garage opened behind us. I could already picture Claire in the passenger seat and myself sitting behind them while Daniel completed trip 228.
"No."I said."This isn't about safety anymore,It's about whether your promise lasts until it becomes inconvenient."
"The front desk can call a taxi. She can wait here safely."
Daniel's mouth tightened.
"Her drivers canceled. You want her sitting alone in a lobby because you're angry?"
Behind Claire, several doctors were still collecting their coats. The concierge stood at the front desk. Two security guards waited beside the entrance, and the hotel lobby remained bright and crowded.
Claire was not alone.
Claire lowered her eyes. "The app says forty-seven minutes. But I'll manage."
Daniel took her work bag before she could lift it onto her shoulder.
"I'm not leaving you here for almost an hour."
Then he faced me.
"I'll take her home and come back for you."
"If you leave, don't come back pretending you didn't choose to."
His grip tightened around Claire's bag.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
I could see the decision settle over his face before he spoke.
"Don't punish Claire because you're jealous, Maya. It's after midnight, it's raining, and she would be going home alone."
"She's in a staffed hotel surrounded by coworkers."
"That isn't the point."
It was exactly the point.
Claire had somewhere warm and safe to wait. She had a phone, security, a front desk, and half a ballroom of people who knew her.
Daniel still looked at her as if I were forcing her into danger.
"We'll talk when I get back," he told me.
I looked at the keys in his hand.
One bag. One set of keys. One choice.
He truly believed our marriage would just wait for him to return.
Claire followed him toward the garage.
The elevator doors closed.
I stood in the lobby while their car left the garage.
Around me, two residents waited for a shared ride. A nurse sat beneath the awning until her husband arrived. The concierge called a taxi for an older couple.
No one was stranded.
Daniel had told me he hated being a driver. He had sent me home alone after urgent care when I had a fever. He had told me to keep waiting when rides canceled in heavy rain.
Each time, he said he was tired.He told his wife to be independent.
But tonight, Claire simply could not get a car immediately. And he instantly left his wife behind to rescue her.
I ordered my own car.
By the time I reached home, my dress was damp around the hem. Daniel's empty coffee mug stood beside the sink.
I opened my laptop.
The Seattle recruiter had offered me a Director of Clinical Operations position. The same board had interviewed me the previous year, so my references and evaluations were still current.
The formal offer waited in my inbox.
The salary was higher. Relocation was covered. I would have six weeks to start.
At the bottom were two buttons.
DECLINE.
ACCEPT OFFER.
Daniel had asked me to stay for his career.
Tonight, he had left me for Claire's ride home.
I pressed ACCEPT OFFER.
A message from Daniel appeared.
Claire is home. I'm coming back for you.
I looked around our quiet kitchen.
He did not know I had already come home without him.
Then another email arrived.
Welcome to Seattle.
Daniel had just completed his 228th trip to Claire's apartment.
He had no idea it would be the one that sent his wife 1,100 miles away.