Chapter 2

Seven years earlier, we had signed our marriage license at city hall. It was our anniversary.

His face went still at last. "Today is..."

I finished it for him. "Our seventh anniversary."

Daniel went silent. After a moment, he sat down across from me.

"I'm sorry. I really did forget." He paused. "That text at six wasn't true. Stella was in a bad way all afternoon, and I didn't want you upset at hearing Lydia's name, so I said it was work.

"She said it was her birthday and her dad hasn't been there for three years. Lydia couldn't calm her down, so I went over."

I nodded. "Okay."

He seemed surprised that I was this calm. "I wasn't planning to stay that long, but Elaine came by, so we all ended up having dinner."

"Okay."

"Joanna." He got sharper. "Can you not do this?"

I looked up. "Do what?"

"The passive-aggressive thing."

I smiled. "I haven't said anything."

That stopped him, and his eyes went to the ring on the table. "So what? You want a divorce because I forgot an anniversary?"

I didn't answer.

He leaned back, like he had finally found the reason for the whole ridiculous night. "Or is this about Lydia?"

There it was. We were back to that again.

Daniel sounded tired. "Joanna, how many more times do I have to explain this? There's nothing between Lydia and me. Charles was my best friend. He asked me himself, right before he died, to look after them.

"Today was Stella's birthday. A little girl with no father fell apart, and I went over and had dinner with her. What's wrong with that?"

That last line landed, and he sounded almost righteous about it.

I looked at him for a long moment. "Nothing's wrong with that."

Daniel blinked. "What?"

"I said there's nothing wrong with you going to her. So after the divorce, you can spend as much time with her as you want."

His face went cold. "You have to talk like that?"

I pushed the ring across the table toward him. "I'm not saying it to hurt you. I've thought it through. Daniel, I want a divorce."

He shot to his feet. "You want a divorce over something this small?"

I looked up at him. "This small?"

"What else would you call it?" He paced the living room, agitated. "All I did was miss one dinner. I forgot the anniversary. That's my fault, and I'll own it.

"I'll book a new restaurant tomorrow, anywhere you want. I'll make up the present too. But threatening me with a divorce? Is that necessary?"

I looked at him and almost wanted to laugh. "You think I'm threatening you?"

"Aren't you?" He looked at me. "If you want me to stop looking after Lydia and Stella, you can say so. There's no need to blow it up like this."

I lowered my eyes. He had landed in the same place he always did.

He still thought I was only trying to force him to choose.

But I had forced that choice on him too many times already.

In the beginning, I would ask, "Can you not run over there every single time she calls?"

Later it came down to one line. "Ethan needs you today too."

After that, I could tell before Lydia's call even came that Daniel wasn't going to stay.

And every time, his reasons were good enough.

Lydia was on her own, Stella had no father, Charles' parents were getting old, and Charles had asked him to look after them before he died.

Taken one at a time, not one of them could be argued with.

So standing on the other side of all of it, I was the one who looked unreasonable.

I got up off the couch. "I already made up the guest room. Starting tonight, I'm sleeping in there. I'll have a lawyer draw up the divorce papers."

Daniel caught my wrist. He wasn't gripping hard, but he didn't let go. "Joanna, that's enough."

I looked at his hand. "Let go."

He didn't move. "Tell me why first. If it's about today, I already apologized. If it's about Lydia, I already told you there's nothing between us. So what else do you want from me?"

I raised my head slowly. "I don't want anything anymore."

He stared at me, and I pulled my hand back. "I used to call you home. Now I won't. I used to fight her for you. Now I won't do that either."

Daniel's frown got deeper.

I held his eyes. "You always thought they needed you more, didn't you? Now you can go to them with a clear conscience."

His face darkened. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not competing with them for you anymore."

I turned toward the guest room, and when I reached the door, he spoke again. "Joanna."

I stopped. Behind me, it was quiet for two seconds.

He had dropped his voice. "It didn't used to be like this."

I didn't turn around.

He said, "When Charles first died, you were the one who told me to look after Lydia and Stella. You were the one who brought them here to stay. For those six months, you went to their house more than I did.

"You understood them better than anyone."

He paused, and his voice sank all the way down. "So why has it turned into this?"

My hand stopped on the doorknob. Three years had gone by, and he still didn't know the answer to that question.

I didn't answer him. I pushed the guest room door open and went in, and the door closed behind me.

Daniel didn't come after me.