Wait.
“I’m sorry,” he finally added.
I looked at her, searching her face for something that would tell me if it meant something or was just another way of closing the subject.
I didn’t respond immediately.
Because that was also my moment to choose.
I could accept those words.
Or he could demand more.
Or he could simply let time do its part.
“Let’s see what you do with this,” I said finally.
It wasn’t an apology.
But it wasn’t a rejection either.
It was a half-open door.
In the car, on the way home, Leo fell asleep leaning on my shoulder.
Her calm breathing contrasted sharply with everything that had happened.
Mark was driving in silence, but this time he wasn’t tense.
It was a different kind of silence.
“You did the right thing,” I said quietly.
He shook his head slightly.
“We did,” he replied.
I looked out the window, watching the lights pass by like little stories we would never know.
Life wasn’t fixed overnight.
Nothing was perfect.
But something had changed.
And sometimes, that’s all it takes to start over.
