When I arrived at the visa center, I saw them through the glass window. Morris and Cassandra.
They weren't touching. A careful distance separated them. But their eyes kept finding each other, and every glance carried a thousand unspoken words.
I clenched my fists and tried to stay calm, but my chest swelled with something hot and sour. Before I knew it, my feet had carried me closer.
"Morris, your lab is so busy. You really don't have to come with me to Finland."
My breath caught. Then I heard Morris answer, his voice impossibly soft:
"Seeing the Northern Lights is something I promised you a long time ago. I just didn't have the means back then. Now I do. Why wouldn't I make it right?"
"Cassandra, after this trip, I'll go back to being a proper family man. Don't worry."
A sharp, strange pain split through my chest.
Every word carved into me like a blade, stroke after stroke.
When we first got married, I had made the exact same request.
"Morris, look how beautiful the Northern Lights are in these photos! Let's go to Finland for our honeymoon!"
He'd frozen for a second, then refused without a moment's thought.
"No. Finland is too far. I can't take that much time off."