They were a married couple, two college sweethearts who somehow ended up in this perfect, empty house.Isn’t it sad?He thought.That she was startled, absolutely panicked, to find her husband home in the middle of the day?Another small proof of the mess they’d made of this life together.
“Got off early today,” he said, his voice flat.
She smiled, walking over in her heels with the same lightness she always had. “Why didn’t you say something?” She asked, kissing him softly on the lips.
Logan wrapped an arm around her. “Last-minute call,” he murmured, his mind far from the present moment.
Sandy, ever the optimist, beamed at him. “Wow, I missed you! We never have time together anymore. Let’s go out for dinner, just the two of us.” She was all light and warmth, but the crack in her smile was too familiar.
Logan hesitated, his gaze drifting past her. “Maybe we stay in? Order takeout? Just... you and me?” The words felt hollow, even to him.
She blinked, disappointment flashing in her eyes, but she nodded. “Okay, I’ll take a shower while you order.”
As she disappeared upstairs, Logan sighed.
He scrolled through the delivery app. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember what his wife liked to eat. There had been a place she draggedhim to once, when he’d made the mistake of staying home for a weekend. He remembered chewing something. That was all. Chewy. She talked through the whole meal, but he wasn’t really there to listen.
Now the screen blurred in front of him. He tried to think of food and thought only of Adrian. Adrian who liked fish, and meat if it wasn’t mixed with dairy. Adrian who tried to keep kosher. Adrian, who ate slowly, who laughed when he liked something, who always wanted to share bites. Logan had known every detail, down to how Adrian salted his fries, fries that Logan usually ordered for him because he tried to eat healthy.
But his wife—nothing. Just the sound of her talking about meals he couldn’t taste.
He clicked on the Italian category. Picked the place with the most reviews. Ordered at random: something vegan, something with cream, something spicy. He didn’t care.
An hour later, the food arrived. They sat next to each other in the living room. He chewed. It could have been anything.
“How was your day?” Logan asked, breaking the quiet.
“Fine…” she said, pausing as if considering whether to say more. There was something between them, an invisible wall, neither of them had the words to tear down.
Logan smiled faintly, setting his food aside, reaching for the glass of wine she’d suggested. He let the silence stretch, listening to the clink of her fork against her bowl. Then she spoke again, her voice soft but edged with something deeper.
“What about us, Logan?” she whispered.
His heart skipped. “What do you mean?”
She met his gaze, her eyes sincere. “What about kids? I want to have children, Logan.”
Logan knew this moment would come eventually, but he wasn’t ready for it now. He didn’t want to be a father, not now, not when his heart was in pieces.
“I do too,” he said, voice distant with the lie it carried, “but we’re not ready for that.”
Her frustration flared. “We’ve been married for over a year now! My friends are having kids, my best friend is expecting, and my mom won’t stop asking. What are we waiting for?”
Logan got up, his fingers tightening into fists. “We’re not ready, Sandy. It’s too soon.” He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think, he was drowning all over again.
“But we have everything,” she argued, standing as well. “We have a house, jobs, money, what’s stopping us?”
Logan’s chest tightened. “Who’s going to raise them, Sandy? We’re both gone all day. I don’t even get home until midnight. How will I ever see them?”
“Well, we’ll get a nanny,” she said matter-of-factly. “And you’ll work less, come home early a few nights a week. I’m sure you can talk to your father and he will help you find a way, I know he is also waiting for a grandkid—”
“No!” he uttered, the words low but firm. “Don’t bring my father into this! This is my job and I don’t want him trying to help me so—”
“But—” she tried to cut in, their tones starting to rise in the empty house, echoing across the walls.
Logan’s stomach sank. He couldn’t imagine it, couldn’t picture himself, drained and broken, trying to be a father. “I’m not ready for this.” He said in finality.
Sandy’s expression faltered, and the tension between them grew. He could feel her anger bubbling beneath the surface.
