Because I assumed Gavin would be there once I returned.

He was.

Technically.

But no one knew what emotional condition our marriage was in.

I realized how close I had come to entering recovery in a house where I had no idea whether I could rely on the person living there.

That mattered.

PART 28 — I CALL MY SISTER

My younger sister Caroline lived forty minutes away.

I had not told her the whole truth because she was caring for her own husband after knee surgery and I did not want everyone rearranging life around me.

Another mistake.