He said it was a mandatory work retreat, three nights, phones-off. Then a delivery van pulled up to our house, and the card on the flowers stopped my heart.

A gift I never bought turned up in our bedroom drawer. I only wanted to know where it came from. The email I opened answered a much older question.

She came back from her girls trip glowing and tan. Three weeks later a woman I had never met walked into my store and asked for me by name.

He said he was flying coach to save the company money. The airline app told a different story before his plane had even left the gate.

He said he was going off the grid for a weekend of silence in the mountains. I only opened the map out of habit, half-asleep, expecting nothing.

He kissed me goodbye and said he hated flying alone. Three hours later my best friend texted me a photo from the same airport lounge.