She left work early on Friday to meet Rob at a restaurant. It wasn't their old favorite. It was the other one - the one they never went to. They sat at the two-seater over diner coffee while they waited for their order.
"Here. This came for you," Rob said. He pushed a square of stiff paper across the table. Devyn took the card, looked at the front, then the back. Whatever it was, her eyes brightened and moistened.
"You kept it for me all this time?"
He nodded. The waiter brought two bowls of soup, furnishing their table with a basket of bread and butter. They began to sip. A minute of silence elapsed before Devyn's patience broke. "Rob," she said. He was familiar to her: his shape, his smell. Hands and lips. He was a hundred-thousand images and songs, many of them bitter. "Rob, I need you to know that I left for a reason - " She stopped when he winced. "It doesn't have to be right now, but - we need to talk this out."
Rob closed his eyes and allowed himself a long breath. Suddenly Devyn felt foolish. Too many words, not enough soup. She sipped from her spoon as her chest started to shake with pain she hadn't known was there, just then.
"Why would I be sitting here if I didn't want to know what happened?" Rob said.
Devyn's eyes fixed on his. "I'm sorry."
He nodded, returning to his soup, but before he could sip it he set his spoon down again. "You know, when you left I thought you were just getting out for a couple days. Maybe even a week or two, but nothing outside a month. I couldn't believe it when time kept passing. You left me with my legs tied."
Devyn focused on her silverware.
"I kept trying to call you, and all you ever said was 'not now.' Do you realize how long I held onto you coming back?"
"I didn't know how long it would be," Devyn said quietly. "I didn't know if ever. I just - I didn't know."
Rob sighed. He chose a piece of bread and started to butter it. But before he could bring it to his lips, he set it down. "I couldn't believe it when I saw your broken car." He laughed, shaking his head. "I just couldn't believe my eyes." He bit the bread.
"You're telling me," she smiled up at him.
"It's not the same thing. You know where I live. I'd stopped thinking you'd ever come back."
She shrank. "You did?"
Rob looked at her, the betrayal sunk so far into his skin, it was almost hard to see anymore. But Devyn saw it.
"You thought - it was sure, we're over?" she asked.
"Are we?" His eyes were not an invitation.
Devyn exhaled, looking down again. "I don't know, Rob. The past comes before the present."
He laughed humorlessly and looked away. "Yeah. I tell you, when I saw you that day, I was blown away. You wouldn't believe the things that went through my head on the way to the parts store."
"Like what?"
"Oh, stupid things. Here she is, come to work everything out and start over. Here's my chance to make everything all right. I swore to do it right with her; here's my chance to make good."
"Those are stupid things?"
"Devyn. Did you hear what I said? I thought you were coming back. For months I kept convincing myself you just needed a little more time. I racked my brains trying to figure out what made you do it, I mean, no warning; you just... you were just gone, like that. Do you realize how hard it is to function when you don't know whether you're married or divorced?"
She closed her eyes and breathed.
"I hate change, you know that," he told her. "Now, finally, I'm used to living in this muck, by myself. And you're back? You're here to tie my legs all over again, make me have to ask the questions all over, every time I wake up, and every time I go to bed? What now, Devyn?"
"Now," she said quietly, "we figure out the answers to all those questions."
"Okay. But where's this going?"
"I need us to talk out what happened," Devyn said again. "I don't know anything past that."
"Well I need to know what the point is," Rob retorted. "Don't get me wrong - don't get me wrong, Devyn, I want to talk it out, too; I want the answers. I don't ever want to have to ask these questions again. What's the goal, though? Is this... just an academic conversation, something to put in the trivia box? Or are we - do you - ah, never mind." He fell to his soup, his heart safe in his chest.
"We'll find out," Devyn said. "We'll just... we'll find out."
She fell to her own cooling bowl, and together they ate lunch.