ASH
'You really are going to make a great husband. Your wife will definitely be proud of you.'
I kept hearing it long after she'd said it, even after the noodles had gone cold on my plate and the rest of dinner had moved on to something else entirely.
There was something underneath the way she'd said it. On the surface, it felt like a compliment, except it hadn't landed like one to me. It landed more like a door closing somewhere I hadn't realized I was still standing in front of, hoping it might open again.
'Your wife.' She had said, like the idea of me belonging to someone else existed entirely outside the space where she stood. Like whoever that future wife was supposed to be, Wren had already decided it couldn't possibly be her. Like she hadn't even considered the question worth p
