"I'll do it. I'll help open the overseas market. I'm going abroad with you."
……
Morris, who always came home on time, didn't walk through the door until eleven that night.
He saw me and blinked, a flicker of surprise quickly smoothed away.
"You're still up?"
I said nothing. He sighed and came over to hold me.
"Regina Swanson, there was a data error in the experiment today. I really couldn't leave."
"I'll come home early tomorrow and cook. We can celebrate your birthday then, make up for it. Okay?"
The arm draped around my waist was stiff. The scent of perfume clung to him, faint but unmistakable.
"Oh, so you do remember it's my birthday."
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, and I pulled myself out of his arms.
Last year on my birthday, I'd told him in advance that I'd booked a restaurant. He never showed.
Three hours I sat there before he finally picked up the phone.
"Why were you waiting for me? Was today something special?"
The impatience in his voice was unmistakable. He'd completely forgotten, and somehow I was the one wasting his time.
He'd known all along. The only reason he offered to make it up to me tonight was guilt.