Chapter 72

“Good night,” he whispered into my hair.

The dog jumped up on the mattress, making a nest of blankets for himself at my feet.

“Good night.” I closed my eyes, listening to the two of them breathing in sync.

This morning, Nick was gone. Didn’t leave a note. And didn’t call all day.

But really, Bump, did you think he would?

Chapter 21

Today, Nathan and I tried to be civil to each other, but that didn’t work very well. I walked on egg shells around him, while he permitted himself to criticize, patronize, and condescend to me to no end. I told him that he was behaving just like his father. He didn’t like that one bit. We spent the rest of the day avoiding each other, until things came to a head.

“You were in there for thirty minutes,” he said, as I stepped out of the washroom.

Lately, I’d been spending a lot of time in the bathroom. I sat on the closed toilet lid and watched the wall. I’d run the faucet or shower to drown out the noise of the TV and sit there thinking.