I ARRIVED AT MY BEACH HOUSE EXPECTING PEACE-YILUX

the mess, at the life that had been turned upside down, and then back at me, his eyes softer now, more uncertain.

“Where does that leave me?” he asked quietly, and it was the first question he had asked that wasn’t about defending himself.

I took a breath, feeling the weight of it, knowing that whatever I said next would shape something we couldn’t easily continue reading …