She smiled.
But something in her eyes had changed.
Hope, maybe.
Or fear.
At 2:13 a.m., her phone buzzed.
Michael.
She stared at the screen.
It buzzed again.
Then again.
“Are you going to answer?”
“No.”
She flipped it face down.
A minute later, mine rang.
Daniel.
I answered.
“Hey.”
“Where are you?”
I glanced at Karen.
“At a diner.”
“With my mom?”
“Yes.”
There was a pause.
“Why?”
“She didn’t want to go home yet.”
Another pause.
Longer.
Then Daniel sighed.
“Dad told me.”
So that was the strange thing in his voice earlier.
“You knew?”
“Not everything. He called me after I called you.”
Karen’s face hardened.
“What did he tell you?” I asked.
“That they’re separating.”
“That’s one way to phrase it.”
Karen shook her head.
Daniel heard the tone.
“Is Mom okay?”
I looked at her.
“She’s sitting right here.”
“Can I talk to her?”
