The same woman I had watched holding another man’s hand only hours earlier moved through the kitchen like any other evening. During dinner I barely spoke and Megan looked at me several times with quiet curiosity as if she sensed something was wrong.
After we put the children to bed I asked if we could talk for a moment. We sat across from each other at the kitchen table where the light above us cast long shadows across the floor.
I took a deep breath and said the words that had been pressing against my chest since the afternoon.
“I saw you at the café today.”
Megan remained still and watched me carefully while I continued speaking.
“I saw the man sitting with you and I saw the moment when he held your hand.”
Silence filled the room for several seconds and I waited for excuses or denial. Instead Megan lowered her eyes briefly before looking back at me with calm honesty.
“His name is Nathan,” she said quietly.
Then she spoke words I had never expected to hear.
“It did not begin suddenly because it started when I began feeling lonely.”