He Left On My Birthday—And Faced The Consequences At His Mother’s Funeral

Not that day.

Six months after the funeral, I moved back into the house.

No rose petals. No dramatic declarations. A practical decision negotiated like two people who’d learned the hard way that romance without respect is just performance.

Jerome showed up for the small stuff in ways he never had before. He came home when he said he would. He didn’t continue reading …