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Paul didn’t sleep much that night or the next. He got through work because he’d always been skilled at shutting down his emotions.
When his father rang, excited to announce he’d booked flights to come up and meet Ben and Lauren, Paul hadn’t had the heart to ask him to delay his visit. How upset was Wendy? Ben might not notice if Wendy wasn’t herself, but Lauren would certainly pick up the general vibe.
She had. On Thursday, there was an unstamped envelope in his mailbox. Lauren must have walked over after school.
Dad,
I’m assuming you said something to Mum. She’s really upset but pretending it’s nothing. I knew you’d been because of the flowers (unless some other man has popped up out of nowhere???!!!)
He would have liked to deceive himself that there was hope if Wendy hadn’t thro
