Chapter 4

On our seventh anniversary, Maren was awake before me for once.

When I came downstairs, she was already sitting at the table.

She had not touched her usual coffee. There was only a cup of warm water in front of her.

An ivory gift bag sat at the corner of the table.

When I reached for it, she quickly moved it behind her chair.

"Not yet."

"An anniversary present?"

She gave me a faint smile.

"Something like that."

She had been tired lately, and her color was not good.

I asked if her stomach problems were back.

She did not answer directly.

"Come home early today."

"Our reservation is at seven."

"And I have a surprise I want to tell you about in person."

I promised I would be there.

To prove I had remembered the date, I had even bought flowers in advance and left them in the back seat of my car.

At 5:40 p.m., Audra called.

Micah had gotten into a fight at school.

After the school posted the Family Day picture online, another student taunted him and said I was not really his father.

Micah shoved the boy and was suspended for two days.

Audra had already brought him home. He was not hurt or missing. He had only locked himself in his room and refused to speak to anyone.

"My brother is on his way," Audra said. "But Micah keeps asking if you regret letting him call you Dad."

I checked the time.

Audra lived only twenty minutes from my office.

I told myself I could make sure Micah was all right and still reach the restaurant on time.

I texted Maren that I might be thirty minutes late.

She asked if it was serious.

I told her Micah had been in a fight and I was going to check on him.

The typing indicator appeared at the top of our conversation.

It stayed there for a long time, then vanished.

Her only reply was, "Okay."

At Audra's house, I spent half an hour talking to Micah through his bedroom door.

He asked if he had caused trouble for me.

Then he asked if he could still call me Dad.

For one second, I saw Maren sitting alone in the last row on Family Day.

But with Micah watching me so hopefully, I told him he could call me whatever made him feel safe.

By 6:40 p.m., Micah had calmed down.

Audra's brother was there too.

I had plenty of time to leave.

But Micah caught the edge of my coat and asked me to stay for dinner.

So I sat down again.

At 7:03 p.m., Maren sent me a picture.

The preview showed only the empty chair across from her, with the coat I had chosen that morning draped over the back.

Beneath the picture was half a message.

"The server asked if she should clear your place setting..."

I did not open it.

Audra set a bowl of soup in front of me.

"Eat something. Micah only just settled down because you are here."

My screen lit up again.

I turned the phone facedown on the table.

Twenty minutes became forty. Then Audra brought out the school's suspension email and asked me to help her write a response.

At 7:25 p.m., Maren called.

"Where are you?"

Her voice was calm.

"Still at Audra's. I am almost done."

"Our reservation was for seven."

"I know."

"You promised me this morning."

I was losing patience.

"Micah got into a fight because of that picture. He thinks he has caused problems for me. I cannot walk out on him right now."

"Is he safe?"

"Yes."

"Is he hurt?"

"No."

"Are Audra and his uncle both there?"

I said nothing.

Maren asked, "If he is safe, why can you not come home?"

"Because he needs me."

The line went quiet for a long time.

I heard the server ask if Maren wanted to keep the table.

Maren softly told her no.

"We will celebrate tomorrow," I said. "Dinner and presents can be made up."

"Tomorrow is not our anniversary."

"Maren, it is just a date."

She did not argue.

She only said, very quietly, "Okay."

"Then this is the last time."

Unease tightened in my chest.

"The last time for what?"

"Nothing."

"Stay with him."

The call ended.

At 9:07 p.m., my phone displayed a notification from our smart lock.

"Front door locked."

A few minutes later, a second notification appeared.

"Maren Mercer stopped sharing her location."

I assumed she had switched it off to make me worry.

Micah came over holding the Family Day picture.

He pointed to me in the photo.

"You really will not leave me, right?"

I turned off my screen.

"I will not."

I did not open either notification.

And I did not see Maren drag her suitcase away and close the door to our home for the last time.