Chapter 40
The days that followed settled into a shape that felt increasingly like a shared life.
Cole left for work at the same hour each morning and returned with the same steady presence. He began checking the lock on the windows without being asked. He kept the prenatal vitamins in the same place on the counter and noticed when the bottle ran low before I did. When I fell asleep on the couch in the early evening, he covered me with the blanket Maya had brought and moved quietly through the apartment, so the noise would not wake me.
It was the kind of care that asked for nothing in return. That was what made it so difficult to hold at a safe distance.
I found myself listening for his key at the door. I found myself saving small details of the day to tell him when he came home. The r
