Then, between songs, my daughter whispered that she was thirsty. I told her to stay put and slipped away toward the concessions.
Someone touched my shoulder from the side. “Hi.”
Unraveling the Past
We ended up out by the quieter side exits where we could actually hear each other speak over the bass. Within the first two minutes, he looked at me and stated plainly that he had never married. He told me there was something he had been carrying for twenty-one years—a secret that explained why he had never been able to fully commit to anyone else—and asked if I would listen until the end.
“I came back for you,” he said.
For a terrifying second, I thought he meant that very night. But he shook his head, looking down at his paper cup. “No. That first winter. After we broke up.”
He explained that during our first semester apart, he convinced himself our breakup was sensible. But when Christmas break arrived, he couldn’t take it anymore. He drove straight to my parents’ house. When my father answered the door, he asked to see me.
