She smiles when I catch her, and I’m grateful, suddenly, that she’s not facing him. That no one but me got to see that look on his face, whatever it meant. It’s a secret for me and me only, one I’ll take to the grave. Even if I did only imagine it—even if it was only my own hopes reflected back at me, fragile that they’ve always been, buried so deep, I never let myself really acknowledge them until now.
