ONE LAST TEXT
The words landed in the middle of a silent room, and I stood there for a long moment absorbing them, waiting for him to take it back, waiting for some flicker of the boy from the park bench to resurface and undo what he'd just said, and when nothing came, when he just stood there, exhausted and resolute and unwilling to reach for me even as I felt myself breaking apart in front of everyone we knew, I understood that this time, whatever we'd started rebuilding really was over.
"Okay," I said, and my voice came out steadier than I felt, some last reserve of dignity holding me together long enough to get the word out. "Okay. I hope that's actually true, and not just something you'll regret tomo