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Luke placed his order, then walked a few steps over to the register. As he waited, he pulled out his phone and texted Jeremiah.
Be home soon. Just ordered the subs.
After pressing the send button, Luke spotted an unopened notification from around the time he and Emma had their first kiss. It was a photo album she had shared with him titled, Since the Day We Danced. Scrolling through the images, his heart was filled with bittersweet memories of their time together. One particular photo caught his eye—a snapshot of the two of them dancing in Emma’s yard as Riley looked back at the camera. Luke remembered how difficult it was to prop her phone up against the Range Rover to get the shot because of the wind.
Together, they had clasped their hands tightly around the Bluetooth remote, and as he dipped her, with one arm around her waist, they squeezed their fingers together and captured a perfect moment—the golden colors of a setting sun that illuminated Emma’s charming cottage and Riley’s infectious smile. More than anything, it captured what it felt like to be in love again.
Studying the photo, Luke contemplated whether he should remove the album from his phone, knowing it would only keep him stuck in the past.
Perhaps it was time to move on.
When he moved his finger to the top right corner of his phone to delete the album, a warning message popped up:
Deleting this album will permanently erase all of its contents. Are you sure you want to proceed?
His chest tightened as he let out a deep breath. These weren’t just photos to him. They were evidence that happiness could be found again, even after the most devastating losses. He wasn’t willing to part with that hope. Not today, at least.
He snapped out of his daze as his order was completed.
“It’s gonna be sixteen thirty-five, sir.”
Luke closed out the photo album and held his phone to the card reader to pay. The man behind the counter handed over the bag of subs.
“Hope you have a good day, sir.”
Luke gave a single nod, taking the bag. “You too.”
Arriving home, Luke closed the front door and walked into the kitchen. “Jeremiah! I’ve got dinner,” he called out, looking toward the stairs.
Jeremiah came running down. “I’m starving.”
Luke set the subs on the table before filling two glasses with water, handing one to Jeremiah. “So, how’s the studying going?” Luke asked, pulling a chair out to join him at the table.
“It’s been going pretty well,” Jeremiah said, smiling. “I skipped the math part since I didn’t have the calculator, and I’ve already done English and science. Next is history.”
“Well, you’ll probably breeze through that section,” Luke said, unwrapping his sub. “I saw the videos your mom took at your history tournaments. You’re a natural at that stuff, Jer. Much better than me. I think you get that from her. She was always a whiz at trivia nights.”
“Trivia nights?” Jeremiah asked, stuffing his mouth.
Luke’s face broke into a wide smile. “When we were first married, we used to go to trivia night at this bar down the street from our first apartment. We won a couple of times, all thanks to your mom.”
“She never told me that.”
“That’s surprising. She never would let me forget we won because of her.”
“I didn’t know you used to do stuff like that together.”
“Back when I wasn’t working so much, I actually had time to have a life. We used to have a blast, me and her,” Luke said, his voice tinged with nostalgia. “But then you came along and ruined all the fun, of course.” Luke leaned over and ruffled Jeremiah’s hair.
Jeremiah laughed and swatted his hand away. “You got grease in my hair. Seriously?”
“I hear that’s good for it.”
Jeremiah rolled his eyes. “Right.”
After dinner, Jeremiah settled back into his study guide in the living room as Luke made his way to the office. Finding an email from Mark Whitaker, his boss at the firm, was a surprise.
Hey Luke,
