I hadn’t slept. Not really.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQFaNWrix3
My mind had been chewing on everything—Sharice’s slap, the way her eyes cut through me like I was the villain… maybe I was. Maybe I’d been lying to myself this whole time about what marriage was supposed to feel like.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgCmFeSkjaD
I thought the ocean would help. Something about the sound of waves made it easier to think. But I didn’t come here to think. I came here to feel… something. Anything other than guilt.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtTYVOKONZ
Then I saw her.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dVgGjal1u
She sat cross-legged in the sand, eyes closed, palms resting gently on her knees. The sun was just starting to rise, casting that early gold over everything. Her belly — round and soft — rose and fell steady like the tide.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOp967S5xkb
She looked like peace.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6xTHCGqyH
Something I hadn’t tasted in years.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCLtkhsgBa
I must’ve been staring, because her eyes opened slowly and landed on me. Calm. Clear.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlM5eJ97FEN
“If you’re gonna stand there like that, might as well sit.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvykx2ZqtK
I blinked. “What?”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEoGTmmmGl
She nodded toward the spot beside her. “Sit. Breathe. Try being still for once.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tj3gSqLvG
My first instinct was to say nah, I’m good, but something in me — the part I don’t listen to enough — told me to shut up and sit down.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cgMeKKUMb
So I did.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOqB435wxU
I dropped into the sand next to her, stiff and unsure. She didn’t speak again, just closed her eyes and went right back to breathing like nothing else existed.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAajtsCs3u
And I followed her lead.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74E9hqjG3d
Slow breath in.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPeOfd7ypr
Slow breath out.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdQQFH7S0k
Again.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUD4offkxP
For the first time in months… the noise in my head lowered to a dull hum. And that silence? That silence felt like a gift.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDnAPrh7HE
I didn’t know who she was, or what she was carrying — both inside her and in her spirit — but I knew I’d remember her long after that sunrise.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7h2zCNWe7t
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcf8xb3d1i6
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVNRDzqNKq
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5PanpzoeB
Later That Night – Dom’s Hotel Room
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0OOBALEy8F
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sf1RrZ2tx
Scene: Dom talks to his twin daughters, Amaya and Alani, on FaceTime.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgmvXyz6ybW
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHzoMeMDUq
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFP0QyCkkI
The screen lit up with both my girls side by side, bonneted and fresh-faced, just like they’ve always been. College life hadn’t changed that.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnYw0ckj2n
“Daddy,” Amaya grinned. “You look like you got some sleep for once.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpezBu96zo
“Yeah,” Alani added. “You don’t look like death warmed over.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJYC2iN9nz
I laughed. “Thanks. Appreciate the love.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmc31V9F1N
There was a pause. The air shifted.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78kFqV9Ks3
“You okay?” Amaya asked, her voice softer now.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjCYo5gR1K
I exhaled slowly. “I’m… trying to be. Just needed to step away for a minute. Clear my head.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOjhkv5MBM
“Because of Mom?” Alani’s question was direct. They got that from me.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZsUyIXqKH
I hesitated.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6AWaye5Nc
Then: “Yeah. Partly. I just… needed space. Needed to figure out who I am outside all the noise.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDRnXMrAvU
They were quiet, but it wasn’t awkward. It was like they were both collecting their thoughts.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4zXmgEN5P
“Daddy,” Amaya finally said. “We been knew y’all weren’t happy.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHpwb1M63C
That hit me harder than anything else could’ve.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGdzwz6KvZA
“You… you did?”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMzlsClvmA
Alani nodded. “We’re not kids anymore, Daddy. We saw the arguments. Heard the cold silences. The way you stopped laughing.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw78a0TJhjk
My chest tightened. “I didn’t want y’all to see that.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YH5cGr2t2
“We did. And we knew you were staying for us. But if you gotta leave to find peace… do it,” Amaya said, her voice steady. “Don’t let guilt keep you miserable.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8OimEUghI
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKa6LdZ6Wc
“Y’all are my heart. I never wanted to hurt you.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQbK2664uR
“You didn’t. Staying in a toxic marriage just taught us that love ain’t supposed to look like that.” Alani gave a small smile. “But leaving? That could teach us something different.”
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Rs96YY5f0
I stared at the screen, speechless.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDopv5U3bpt
For the first time in years, I felt seen.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdVmmkQCSk
They weren’t little girls anymore.
They were women.
And they were giving me permission to be human.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUx0wNVT3ER
“I love you both,” I said, voice low, heavy with emotion.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWi2S76eHHq
“We love you more,” they said together, just like they used to when they were little.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6D6ZowmBfD
After we hung up, I sat in that quiet for a long time.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzw1FnQFjV
That woman on the beach, that peace I felt near her… maybe it wasn’t just a fluke.
9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡij41pHG7KQ
Maybe it was the start of something I never thought I’d deserve.
