- 2.
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“IDs.”
Reynolds handed them over.
100
As the man took them, I saw the missing tip of
his left pinky finger. He walked towards the counter, a slight limp in his right leg. I covered my mouth.
Reynolds grabbed the room keys and hurried
me away.
Back in the room, my voice finally returned. “How did he… become like this?”
On the way here, I’d vowed to slap him. The nerve of him, forgetting me, marrying another woman! But seeing him… all I wanted was to
hold him.
I stayed in the room for hours, until Lisa,
Reynolds‘ partner, forced me out. Everyone was
having a barbecue in the backyard. I spotted
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David immediately, manning the grill, chatting
easily with Reynolds.
“Nina, feeling better?”
I nodded.
“David, this is Nina.”
I extended my hand, fighting the tremor. “Nina
Mitchell. Hi.”
His warm hand briefly grasped mine. “David.
Hi.”
A greeting between strangers. My nose stung. I remembered him holding me after he proposed,
whispering, “Mrs. Walker, hello.”
We’d lost it all.
Looking at him, a million questions swirled
inside me. But all I managed was, “This place is
A
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beautiful. Are you… happy here?”
He flipped a burger, casual. “Yeah, pretty
good.”
That’s good.
A burger slipped from the grill. He looked
towards the doorway. “Buddy, come here.”
Buddy. The name we’d given our ginger cat.
He’d picked it. “Fat and round,” he’d said,
“Buddy it is.”
But the dog wagging its tail was a golden
retriever. My throat tightened. “His name is
Buddy?”
“Yeah, fat and round. What else would you call
him?”
I turned away, wiping my tears. Only he would
choose a name so…ordinary.
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100
The food was ready. Everyone gathered. I grabbed a beer and chugged, the bitterness spreading through my mouth. I looked at him. The mole I used to tease him about was still there. He still wore a red string around his neck, though I didn’t know if it was the one I’d given him. It all felt surreal.
Lisa handed out plates, placing mushrooms on his. I reached for them before he could. “No, he can’t eat mushrooms.”
Everyone stared at me. I froze. Suddenly, a
figure rushed forward, jumping onto David’s back, hugging him tightly.
“David! I missed you so much!”
He bent, protectively holding her. “Get down.”
The words were a scolding, but the tone was pure indulgence.
He pulled her in front of him, smiling. “This is
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my wife, Emily.”
