The paper crown hangs on our refrigerator now.
Held up by a sunflower magnet.
KING DINOSAUR.
The GREAT JOB sticker is still peeling off one corner.
Julian once tried removing
it.
“People are going to ask questions.”
I put it right back.
“Good.”
I go with him every Thursday now.
Only Thursdays.
That was our agreement.
And yes, I sometimes skip lunch and buy glitter.
Julian pretends this annoys him.
It doesn’t.
For years, I thought I knew my husband completely.
Coffee at 7:30.
One sugar.
Forehead kiss.
Thursday gym.
Every pot lid lifted before he said hello.
Then a stranger stood on my porch and told me where Julian’s missing phone had been found.
For one awful moment, I thought the man I trusted most had been living another life behind my back.
I was right about one thing.
There was a secret.
It simply wasn’t the kind I feared.
