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

She swore her ex was gone for good, blocked everywhere, ancient history. Then she came home grinning and said he'd just been hired into the sales team at her company.

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.

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.