CLAIRE

I left the facility at six PM, giving myself an hour to prepare dinner. Nina had smiled knowingly when I packed up. "Big plans tonight?" she'd asked.

"Just dinner with my husband," I'd replied.

"That's what I like to hear," Nina had said.

The drive home felt different than it had this morning, lighter somehow, like a weight I'd been carrying had finally lifted.

At home, I found Blake sprawled on the couch watching what looked like a terrible action movie, things were exploding on screen while the main character ran in slow motion.

"You're home early," Blake observed, not looking away from the TV.

"Julian's coming home at...