Chapter 3

In the third year of our marriage, Maren and I planned to remodel the kitchen.

She loved to cook, but she had lived with a leaking sink and cabinet doors that never quite closed for five years.

We saved $20,000 for the renovation. We had even chosen the tile.

A week before construction was scheduled to begin, Audra's transmission failed.

Without discussing it with Maren, I withdrew $13,000 from the renovation account and bought Audra a used car.

Maren received the bank alert while I was out test driving it with Audra.

That night, she placed the account statement in front of me.

"Why did you not tell me first?"

"It was an emergency."

"You could have talked to me."

"And then what? Would you have agreed?"

She went quiet.

"At least it would have been a decision we made together."

I said half the money was mine too.

Maren looked at me.

"Yes, Graham."

"Half."

Later, Micah's championship game fell on the same day Maren was receiving the city's Emerging Designer Award.

I promised I would leave the game after an hour.

Instead, I stayed with Micah's team until nearly midnight.

When I got home, I showed Maren pictures from the game.

She asked if I had watched the video of her accepting the award.

I said I would watch it the next day.

Maren slid her phone across the table.

The video was paused at the exact second the host said her name.

"It is only three minutes and twelve seconds," she said.

My phone rang at the same time.

Audra had texted to say Micah was too excited to sleep and wanted to go over the final inning with me again.

I picked up my phone and headed for the study.

"Graham."

Maren called after me.

When I turned around, she had already turned off the video.

"Never mind."

She sat alone at the dining table, still wearing the navy dress from the ceremony. Two dinners had gone cold in front of her. One had never been touched.

Every time something like that happened, I believed I could make it up later.

We could earn more money. We could remodel the kitchen next year. I could watch an awards video anytime. An anniversary could be celebrated on another night.

I never understood that every "later" I promised was taking something from Maren's present.

A few days later, I came home to find three boxes in the living room.

Maren was packing clothes and books inside them.

"What are you doing?"

"The office is holding a donation drive."

She did not look up.

"A women's shelter needs winter clothes and books."

I watched her fold a cashmere coat she had barely worn.

It was my second anniversary gift to her.

"You are donating that too?"

"I never have a chance to wear it anyway."

Her mother's jewelry box was in one of the cartons, along with a document case holding her passport and other identification.

I was about to ask why when Audra sent me another message. Micah was being teased about the Family Day picture.

My attention went straight to my phone.

While I looked down, Maren covered the jewelry box with a layer of clothes.

A few days later, I noticed our wedding portrait was missing from the bedroom.

Maren said the glass had cracked and she had sent it out to be reframed.

I never checked the wall for broken glass.

I did not notice that the three boxes meant for charity disappeared the next day either.