The Courage to Answer

The phone rang while Jack was washing a mug he didn’t need anymore. He stared at the

screen, her name glowing like something from another life. For months,

he’d practiced not thinking about her. Practiced believing the ending was final. He answered anyway.

Her voice sounded steadier than he expected. Older. Braver.

“I’m not calling to fix anything,” she said. “I just didn’t want our last silence

to be the truest thing about us.” They spoke carefully at first, like people walking

on a frozen lake. She told him about the job she finally took. He told her about

the apartment that still echoed too loudly at night. Then she said, “I wasn’t ready