“I have given this,” I said, “all the thought it warrants.

And more.” Afterward, in the hallway, he hurried after me.

“What would I have to do,” he asked, “for you to come back to me?” Months earlier, I had lain awake aching to hear him ask that exact question.

Now that it had come, I searched myself for some feeling to match it, and found only quiet.

“Nothing, Logan,” I said.

“There are mistakes a person can fix.