Ch. 9: Rules of the Game

There were things Nina had learned never to say aloud, and most of them were about she.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," Nina said. "I'm asking you to listen." Money could buy a great many things, she had learned, but never the one thing that was wanted most.

Nina crossed the room slowly, aware of every step, of the way she was watching without seeming to. She remembered the first time, and the last, and all the ordinary days in between that had somehow mattered more.

She remembered the first time, and the last, and all the ordinary days in between that had somehow mattered more. "I'm not asking you to forgive me," Nina said. "I'm asking you to listen." There was a history between them that neither would name, written in the things they did not do.

For a heartbeat the careful distance between them thinned to nothing at all. "You shouldn't have come," she said, and the words landed softer than they were meant to.

Every choice had a price. Nina had known that for years, and still the knowing never made it easier.

There was a history between them that neither would name, written in the things they did not do. She remembered the first time, and the last, and all the ordinary days in between that had somehow mattered more. Money could buy a great many things, she had learned, but never the one thing that was wanted most.

The door closed softly, but the sound of it stayed with her for a long time.