He Wanted to Erase Our Marriage at Dinner

a.m., when exhaustion finally hit me hard enough that my teeth hurt.

I stood to go upstairs and my phone buzzed one more time.

Unknown number.

I answered because I was too tired to be smart.

It was Linda.

Not crying. Linda didn’t cry unless there were witnesses.

“Claire,” she said, in that dry, controlled voice. “Mason’s school says the payment failed.”

I continue reading …