And by morning, reality returned.

My work phone rang before sunrise with a structural emergency on a job site, and I rushed out to handle it without waking her, leaving no note, no explanation, nothing.

I had thought of that morning, in the months since, only as an awkward loose end.

I did the math now, standing in the boardroom, and my stomach dropped straight through the floor.

Chapter 3 — Four Pounds, Three Ounces