Nothing changed after the conversation. That was the problem. Marcus heard me and did not change, which meant he had heard me and decided the cost of changing was higher than the cost of my disappointment. That was the lesson hidden inside the silence. I had asked, and the asking had produced nothing, and I understood then that the asking was not the point.
The following week, I had a work trip. It was three days in a city four hours away, a client meeting and a workshop and a dinner that I had organized myself. I told Marcus a week in advance. I told him twice. I put it in the calendar we shared, the one I had created because he kept forgetting things.
On the first night of the trip, I called him from my hotel room. He did not answer. I called again an hour later. Nothing. I sent a mess
