“What happens when the next person who treats us badly is somebody you like?”

I looked her in the eye.

“Then the same rules have to apply.

Especially then.”

It was a promise I intended to keep.

PART 20: A House Without His Shoes

Connor moved into a rental apartment near the river.

Our attorneys worked through the separation in ordinary, tedious steps: joint accounts, property records, insurance, a list of household belongings, and an agreement about how we would communicate.