EYES OPEN

the smi

for his boss or his mother or anyone whose opinion he actually cares about. This is a differe

his phone face-down beside his plate, a

, setting my glass

sts itself so fast it almos

smiling at

fork. "Just thinking ab

o my chicken and

ed. The kind of man who can look you dead in the eye and tell you the sky is green and almost make you question yo

. Every bit the devoted husband comi

brates again

or it before

n?" I ask

t look up. "Just t

chat. At eight-thirty

my water and s

ng because eve

cause I already

Derek started carrying his phone everywhere, even to the bathroom. The way he started sleeping with it under his pillow instead o

kind of things a woman notices w

s been payin

t week," he says, still looking at

w l

ybe thre

et me know when y

e relaxes. Like he expected a different answer. Li

ls me ev

ing the water longer than necessary, listening to the sounds of him in th

f the tap

ng, voice dropped lo

t

hing where it squeezes and then goes completely sti

e is off the phone by the time I appear in th

ing okay

s. "Just confirm

back.

dow and I do the thing I have trained myself to do since I was a l

not r

th

The call he took the second I left the room. I think about the

en last Thursday when he left his phone on the counter for

ien

. No emoji.

her exactly once, in the way men mention exes they want you to thin

the time becaus

and open Facebook and type

ne Cal

woman, dark hair, wedding ring catching the

cro

her tagge

ing beside a tall man with dark hair and a jaw th

I

tare at the ceiling until Derek co

not s

pl