The guys arrived home looking exhausted, each of them moving with the slow, dragging gait of someone who'd been through too much for one day. Daniel dropped his bag by the door and muttered something about traffic and endless meetings, his shoulders sagging as he bent down to untie his shoes. Thomas looked like he hadn’t had a chance to breathe all afternoon, loosening his tie with a sigh so deep it echoed through the hallway. His eyes held that faint glazed-over look teachers often got after a chaotic day wrangling kids.
I decided to make dinner for all of us while they took turns in the shower. The scent of garlic and herbs filled the apartment as I worked, something warm and comforting to pull them back from whatever stress they'd carried home. There was something soothing about the rh
