Lots of people knew Ben was married, but
they had no idea what his wife was like.
Besides our nightly routine, we never saw
each other. And we never had a chat that
wasn’t about Ryan.
In five years, we hadn’t had one argument. It
was as formal and awkward as could be. We
were, basically, still strangers.
By 3 pm, I was picking up Ryan from
preschool.
When I pushed the door open, Chloe was
lounging on the couch, cuddling our dog. “Hey, you’re back?” she chirped.
Ryan, always so serious, squealed with
<
excitement. “Auntie Chloe!”
He was a huge fan. After watching Chloe’s
dance videos, he wouldn’t shut up about it.
Chloe ruffled his hair, and looked at me,
smirking, “Looks like he likes me more, sis.”
I put the grocery bags down and headed
towards the kitchen, ignoring their
conversation.
“If I move in, where will your mom go?”
“She can leave, I guess,” said Ryan. “She’s
not that useful anyway.”
…The tap water roared.
