My Husband Made Me Leave the Barbecue Until He Discovered What Was Waiting at Home

I wanted to see if he would.

My throat closed up, but I kept my voice even.

And he did, I said.

I didn’t think you’d actually leave, she said.

That was the whole problem, Ava.

And then she started to cry. Not the fast, theatrical tears from the deck. This was small and broken and real, the sound of a girl who has finally reached the edge of a game she’d continue reading …