The Rain Stopped When I Left You

The rain stopped not long after I left the office. As I closed my umbrella, I spotted Mark Foster and Rachel Lynch eating at the café across the street.

Mark was usually stern and reserved, but around Rachel, he looked softer. His smile was relaxed and genuine.

For a moment, I could only stare. I couldn't remember the last time he had smiled at me that way.

Then I realized he was already standing in front of me. His voice was as businesslike as ever.

"Rachel and I got caught in the rain while we were out on an assignment, so we stopped here to eat. What are you doing out here? It was pouring a few minutes ago. You're about to make a director.

"Don't get sick and let it affect your work."

Rachel caught up with us just then.

As soon as Mark saw her, he instinctively stepped away from me. "We should get going."

Before I could respond, he turned and walked away with her.

I knew why. Once again, he was making sure no one suspected we were together.

At work, we could barely speak to each other. We couldn't work side by side, and we certainly couldn't commute together.

For years, I had watched him walk away from me just like that. But I was done watching him go.

When I got home, I took the confirmation of my resignation from my bag and left it where Mark was sure to see it. I planned to wait for him so we could finally talk.

He picked up groceries on his way home. As soon as he arrived, he tied on an apron with practiced ease and went straight into the kitchen.

He didn't notice me until he had set dinner on the table. "You're home. Dinner's ready."

The only sound in the room was the soft clink of our utensils.

Somewhere along the way, we had stopped talking. We had spent so long pretending not to be close at work that eventually, we stopped being close at home too.

We used to be the couple everyone envied. Now we sat across from each other with nothing to say.

The last time we had really talked was after Rachel and I competed for the associate director position.

I got the promotion. Rachel didn't.

But the moment the decision was announced, Mark defended her in front of the entire management team. He called the decision unfair, praised her talent and hard work, and insisted that she should have gotten the job.

The pain of hearing my own boyfriend argue for her outweighed any happiness I felt about the promotion.

Later, at home, I told him how much he had hurt me.

He barely reacted. "Everything I said was true. Rachel is good at her job, and she deserved the promotion. Besides, since we're together, we have to be careful about how things look.

"There's no reason to give people something to gossip about."

I had never denied that Rachel was good at her job. But I was good at mine too, and I had earned that promotion.