AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’ve been playing house. And now it’s time to let that go, to let it all go…
I can’t imagine going back to the quiet solitude of before. Some men crave it and leave their wives for it—for me, the idea of losing that companionship is second only to losing Laura herself.
By the time I’m done making breakfast and Laura has come downstairs, making herself a cup of coffee, I’ve put myself in a terrible mood. I feel morose.
She hops onto a stool, looking me over. “Did something happen while I got ready?”
“No,” I answer.
She hums, not believing me. I set the waffles in front of her before turning around to grab my own breakfast.
As I sit beside her, she turns so that we’re nearly facing. Her feet rest on my stool’s bar. Her knees press against the side of my thigh.
Her presence, usually a welcome distraction, now feels like an intrusion. I feel like she can read my mind, and can see through my calm demeanor. I’m on edge, knowing that any moment with her could be my last.
Laura, however, seems entirely unaware that I’m spiraling. Instead, she’s scowling at my bowl.
“Would you like some?” I offer.
She scoffs, “Oatmeal? On Waffle Day?”
“I didn’t agree to waffles,” I remind her.
“Our age difference is coming into stark view,” she says. Then she smiles at me.
I look back at the oatmeal. I take a bite, and it tastes like ash.
As we eat, I try to think of something to say. But the only words in my mind, repeating over and over again like a chant, areshe’s leaving, she’s leaving, she’s leaving,and since I don’t want to swaythatto her, I ignore it.
“So, I was thinking about the Wyatt case,” Laura says as she drizzles syrup on her waffles. I watch her cut the waffles, usingjust the side of her fork instead of the knife I laid out for her. She’s… endearing, I suppose the word is. I like watching her, seeing what she does. It makes it hard to look away.
“What about it?” I ask, a bit too late.
“Well, the approach. I was reading over the transcripts, and something about the judge’s response made me think we were missing context. So, I want to put in the request to get the video files—and just see what we aren’t seeing. There’s something that I just can’t put my finger on.”
I know what she means. What’s missing is that Judge Tamlin is a misogynist who always makes decisions based on his own prejudice, but we haven’t been able to actually get him to do something illegal.
Still, it’s good that Laura can see that just from the transcript—it took a lot of other lawyers seeing him in action to realize.
“Good idea,” I land on. She can find this out herself, as that will probably be better for her at the firm.
“Alright,” she says, sighing. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” I answer quickly—almost too quickly. “I’m not—nothing’s wrong.”
“Is it because I stayed here again?” she demands, putting her fork on the plate.
I stir the oatmeal. “No,” I say. “It’s nothing.”
“It is something!” Laura snaps. She gathers her hair in her fist, twisting a tie so that her hair is in a high, messy bun. I’ve only seen her do this a few times, and it almost always means she’s actually mad.
I relent. What good would putting it off do anyway?
“Here’s the truth,” I say, and for some reason, it makes my throat close up. “I think it’s time.”
“Time?” she asks, cocking her head to the side. Then she smiles, and her eyes widen. “I’m still eating. Maybe in an hour…?”
“No,” I interrupt, blushing. Jesus,blushing.
