“Listening is a start,” I said.

“It isn’t all of it.”

He held the door while I secured Paisley in her car seat.

He made no attempt to turn the medical appointment into a discussion of our marriage.

Later that evening he sent a brief text to check on her.

I answered with an update, and nothing else needed to be said.

One evening Lucas called to ask if he could speak with me about our marriage.

He didn’t demand it, didn’t invoke his mother, and didn’t accuse me of being cruel for hesitating.