The next morning, I arrived at Margaret's old house, the gravel crunching under my shoes as I stepped out of the car. The house looked the same as always, quiet and familiar, but the emptiness inside hit me hard. When I walked in, Nathan was already there, standing by the window with his back to me, the light from the window highlighting the lines of his face.
He turned around, his eyes meeting mine with a mix of resolve and fatigue. "I made one mistake in judgment, Aria. I can't let a funeral define eight years of marriage."
He paused, his breath coming a little faster as he ran a hand through his hair, his shoulders slumping slightly. "When the accident happened, I didn't know if Bella's condition would worsen. The hospital records show she was stable enough to be discharged by two in the afternoon, but the funeral was at three. I thought I could still get there in time if I left right away."
I dropped my bag on the table, my fingers gripping the edge tightly, the wood cool against my skin. "If the danger was over by two, why didn't you come to the funeral? The service started on time."
Nathan's shoulders tensed, and he took a step closer to me, his voice a little sharper. "Bella heard that I was leaving and started shaking, grabbing my hand and begging me not to leave her alone. She was terrified, Aria. She needed me right then."
The words landed, and I felt the old pull of his concern, but it faded quickly. The real end of our marriage's trust hadn't been when he rushed to save the injured first. It was when the reason for that saving disappeared. Now he thought Bella's fear mattered more than his wife burying her own mother.
I remained calm, my voice even. "You were there for her when she needed you most. But when that need passed, you chose her fear over helping me bury my mother."
Nathan tried to defend himself, his hand reaching toward me but stopping midway, his voice rising. "I didn't abandon you. I arrived at the cemetery a few hours later, that's all. I got there as fast as I could."
I shook my head, the words coming out firm, my hands clenching at my sides. "The coffin being lowered, the pastor's final prayer, and me turning away for the first time to leave my mother—those moments happened only once. Some positions in a marriage can't be rescheduled like a dinner, Nathan."
He looked surprised, as if the concept of "irreparable" had just dawned on him for the first time. His shoulders slumped a bit, but he pushed on, his tone turning hopeful. "There are still many anniversaries and memorial days we can celebrate together. We can make up for lost time."
His words laid bare his thinking. He saw the current pain as something that could be offset by future dates. It was like a ledger, and he was already thinking about the credits. The silence stretched, the clock on the wall ticking loudly in the room.
After a long moment, Nathan turned toward the window, his hand reaching out to close it as if the room needed to be sealed for some reason, the sound of the window sliding into place echoing in the quiet, the curtain fluttering slightly. The same way he used to close doors or adjust blinds when he wanted to prove he still belonged here.
"Wait," I said, my voice cutting through the air with sudden sharpness. "Don't."
He froze, his hand still on the frame, his expression uncertain. "Aria, I just want to make this right. Like always, taking care of the details."
I stepped forward, my hand on his arm, feeling the tension in his muscles, the fabric of his suit jacket rough under my fingers. "Stop. This house is something I will handle myself."
He pulled back slightly, but his eyes searched mine for a moment longer, a flicker of something like guilt crossing his face, his shoulders dropping as he waited for my answer. "Is there anything else I need to do? I can stay and help with whatever you need."
The question hung in the air between us, and for the first time, the answer was clear in my mind. "No."
Then, I turned to him, my voice low and steady. "And what about the gray-blue blanket? I saw the photo from the hospital chat. You were with Bella, wrapped in it."
Nathan looked confused for a moment, then explained. "It's just something to keep her warm. I left it in the car so I could use it for her. When Bella gets better, I'll take it back. Your mom won't mind me saving a person, you know."
The words made my blood run cold. I stepped closer, my voice rising for the first time. "Don't speak for the dead, Nathan. That blanket isn't some expensive heirloom. It was Margaret's last project, the one she finished with her aching fingers even when the needles slipped. She worked on it when she couldn't hold them steady. You promised to keep it well when I gave it to you. Now it's on Bella, and you want me to prove my mother was as kind as you say she was. Go get it yourself. I won't keep giving it meaning for you anymore."
He tried to backtrack, his expression softening as he tried to find words. "Aria, if I bring it back, we can fix this. Let's go home tonight together. We can start over, just you and me."
The proposal hung in the air, but I didn't respond to it directly, letting the moment stretch as the light in the room started to fade.
Later that evening, we returned to the city home. The guest room was already in the process of being changed for new bed sheets, the mattress exposed and the old ones being carried out by movers, the room feeling bare and unfinished, the air carrying the faint smell of new fabric.
Nathan admitted, "Bella is temporarily afraid to live alone. I'm going to let her stay two or three nights. There's a caregiver, but having familiar people nearby makes her more at ease."
He didn't ask me first whether I could accept it. He just thought that since I was dealing with Mom's aftermath at her house, the room was empty. This arrangement continued the choice from yesterday into a long-term state. He wasn't missing one funeral and then going back to his wife. He was organizing the family around Bella when I was most vulnerable. I felt the words settle over me, the weight of his assumption pressing on my shoulders.
I only took my daily clothes and mom's files, telling Nathan I would temporarily stay at Margaret's old house. He said, "Wait until you calm down, the house will wait for you."
I packed my things in silence, the sound of folding my clothes echoing in the room, the weight of the file folder heavy in my hands, the decision settling in me like a quiet resolve. The clothes were folded neatly, the files placed in a box, my movements steady but deliberate.
That evening, Bella sent me a thank you message with a photo of herself under the gray-blue blanket, saying Nathan told her she could keep it first, "Margaret would have wanted it to comfort someone."
I stared at that sentence on my phone, my thumb scrolling over the words, finally stopping myself from asking when Nathan would take the blanket back. I canceled all the family dinners, bill reminders, and Nathan's mom's birthday on the shared calendar, only keeping the personal matters related to mom's inheritance. The shared calendar app showed the reminders being removed one by one, the screen lighting up with the changes, each deletion confirming with a soft beep, the notifications vanishing from my view.
Nathan called soon after, the phone ringing in the quiet room. I answered, my voice steady. "Why are you calling?"
He asked, "Why did you suddenly cancel all reminders?"
I said, "If one funeral is too small to define a marriage, then you can handle one calendar without me."
For the first time, the line went quiet. The silence hung there for a moment, and I re-registered the door lock of Margaret's old house to myself, the key turning in the lock with a click that felt final, the sound echoing as I secured the house once more.
