The café was nearly empty. A few hospital staff sat at the tables, hunched over cold coffee. Visitors who needed hot coffee while they waited for news. The barista looked exhausted. The coffee smelled stale.
Arianne chose a table near the window. Late afternoon light fell across the surface in pale gold squares.
Dominic sat across from her. He ordered a coffee to go, his voice polite and automatic with the waitress. Then he turned to Arianne.
"Do you want anything? Coffee? Tea?"
"No. Gio is waiting outside. I don't have time."
He nodded. The waitress left. The silence settled between them, heavy and familiar.
Arianne looked at him. The last time they had sat like this, face to face, was years ago. Before the engagement. Before the betrayal. Before everything. She had been a different person then. So had he. The man across from her now was hollowed out, his expensive suit rumpled, his eyes shadowed. He looked like someone who had been carrying something too heavy for too long.
