Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO THOUGHT HE COULD COME BACK
Almost two years after leaving, Daniel's life in Columbus began falling apart.
The promotion he'd accepted had not brought the satisfaction he expected.
His relationship with Melissa ended.
His apartment felt cold.
His friends had families.
Children.
Holiday traditions.
People waiting for them at home.
Daniel had none of that.
One evening, he found an old photograph on his phone.
Joanna standing in their kitchen.
Owen sitting on the counter.
Lucy holding a wooden spoon.
Everyone laughing.
Daniel stared at it.
Then remembered something Joanna had said years earlier.
One day you're going to miss the noise.
He had laughed at her.
Now he would have given anything to hear it again.
He began imagining returning.
Joanna would be surprised.
The children would be excited.
He would apologize.
They would talk.
Maybe cry.
Then begin again.
He told himself that two years was a long time.
But families forgave.
Didn't they?
So he packed an overnight bag.
Bought white roses.
And drove nearly three hundred miles back to Pennsylvania.
He didn't call ahead.
He wanted it to be a surprise.
He imagined Joanna opening the door.
He imagined Lucy running toward him.
He imagined Owen pretending not to care.
May you like
He imagined forgiveness beginning before dinner.
Instead, he found an empty house.
