2

Ethan was sure I wouldn’t last three days.

On the fourth night, he showed up outside the children’s therapy center with a thermos.

“Here to pick you up.”

He said it casually, as though six months of broken promises had never happened.

I glanced behind him. “Where’s the car?”

He hesitated. “Rena had a client meeting. She took it.”

I opened the thermos.

The noodle soup was slicked with chili oil.

I couldn’t eat spicy food. Ethan knew that.

Serena, on the other hand, loved it.

“She made this?”

“She insisted on helping. I’d set yours aside separately, but I grabbed the wrong one on my way out.”

“Then take it back.”

Ethan’s face fell. “Quinn, I came all the way here for you. What more do you want?”

“You gave her the car, brought me soup made the way she likes it, then rode the subway for over an hour to come get me.”

I pushed the thermos back into his hands. “Are you trying to make me feel grateful, or just trying to make yourself feel better?”

He had nothing to say to that.

The glass door of the therapy center swung open and Ryan walked out, holding a scarf out to me.

“You left this in the locker room. Temperature’s dropping. Don’t forget it.”

Ethan’s eyes locked on him. “Who is he?”

“A coworker.”

“How come you’ve never mentioned him?”

I almost laughed. “How many of my coworkers do you know?”

Three years of dating, one year engaged, and he’d only been to my office twice.

Once to pick up Serena after she’d had too much to drink, since he was passing by. The other time, to borrow my charger.

Ryan jingled his car keys. “Last train’s about to stop running. Want a ride?”

Ethan cut in immediately. “No need. I’ll take her.”

“Didn’t your car get taken?”

Ethan’s face darkened even more.

I didn’t want to make a scene in front of a coworker, so I turned down Ryan’s offer and walked with Ethan toward the subway station.

On the way there, he tried to speak several times but held back each time.

At the transfer, Ethan suddenly said, “Don’t forget, we’re going to try on wedding dresses tomorrow afternoon.”

“Let’s cancel the wedding.”

“You’re still mad about Rena?”

“Not postpone. Cancel.”

He stared at me. “I haven’t agreed to that.”

“Canceling a wedding doesn’t require both people to agree.”

The next afternoon, I went to the bridal shop after all, but only to process the refund.

Ethan was forty minutes late.

I called him three times. Serena answered the last one.

“Quinn, Eth can’t come to the phone right now.”

In the background, I heard Ethan’s voice. “If it hurts, don’t move. I’ll take you to get an X-ray.”

Serena drew a sharp breath. “I twisted my ankle moving a flower pot. He insists on checking if it’s fractured. You’re not upset, are you, Quinn?”

I hung up and slid the refund form across the counter to the clerk.

I’d just finished signing when Ethan called.

“Rena got hurt. I’ll be there later.”

“No need to try on dresses. I’ve already canceled everything.”

“Quinn, can’t you be understanding just this once?”

I looked at my reflection in the mirror.

“You take her to the doctor while I move out alone. You give her the car while I ride the subway. You remember that she’s afraid of pain, afraid of the dark, that she can’t get caught in the rain.”

I lowered my head and signed the refund form.

“Ethan, I’ve been understanding too many times. I’m just tired.”

“We’ll talk when I get back.”

“No need.”

“Do you really have to be this cold?”

I gathered my things, my voice quiet. “You know exactly who’s been cold.”

Silence on the other end.

Then, coldly, “Don’t come crying to me later.”

I ended the call and set my phone to silent.

I signed the last form.

White wedding dresses lined the corridor.

I used to imagine what Ethan’s face would look like when he saw me in one.

Now, all I wanted was my deposit back.