I walked out into the night, letting the cool air
wash over me. As I walked, I remembered the
first time I’d met Mark. It had been on a night
like this. My mom and I were running from debt
collectors, my shoes lost, my feet bleeding. We
couldn’t stop, not even for a moment. If we did,
they would catch us.
We ran into Mark, literally. He was riding his
bike home. He saw us, didn’t hesitate, and
charged at the debt collectors with a brick. The
collectors were arrested, and Mark got
suspended from school for excessive force.
That’s how I found out we were in the same
grade.
I felt guilty. Mark, playing the “injured party,”
let me take care of him. He even secretly
helped my mom pay off our debts. I
remembered the nurses teasing us, calling me
<
his girlfriend, the way he’d blush and deny it. He
was so good to us that my mom felt we could never repay him. “Wendy,” she’d said, “you can never let Mark down. We owe him everything.”
Six years. I thought I’d repaid him enough.
Mom, I can’t do this anymore.
If it weren’t for Sarah, everything would have
been perfect.
I found myself standing outside a cheap motel, barefoot again, just like that night years ago.
The next day, I bought new clothes and shoes,
found an apartment, and handed in my notice
at work. I had to wait a month for it to be
processed.
For two weeks, Mark didn’t contact me. I
assumed he was with Sarah.
く
He finally reappeared at the company’s mid-
year conference. After the meeting, we had
dinner at the hotel. The atmosphere was thick
with tension. Colleagues kept glancing at me,
then at Mark. Many of them had been at our
wedding, had given us gifts. They knew what
had happened. They knew about the baby.
Mark acted as if I didn’t exist.
