He stared into his coffee as though waiting for me to add a condition.

“I can’t rebuild our marriage just because you’re frightened,” I continued.

“You deserve a chance to become a better person without treating me as the prize you get for doing it.”

For a long time, neither of us spoke.

Outside, pedestrians hurried beneath umbrellas.

A couple at the next table shared a pastry and laughed about something small.

Finally, Mark nodded.

“I don’t like hearing that.”