He wouldn’t even look me in the eyes.
“Linda, please. I’m exhausted tonight.”
I pretended it didn’t hurt.
But when he turned his back to me, I lay there staring at him for a long time.
That was the first night I allowed myself to think the words I had been trying so hard to avoid.
Maybe he simply doesn’t want me anymore.
The following week, I even suggested that we spend a night at a hotel.
“Just one night. You and me. Like we used to.”
Robert laughed.
“A hotel? At our age?”
Those words stayed in my mind.
At our age.
After that, I began looking at myself in the mirror more closely.
My wrinkles.
My body.
The gray strands appearing in my hair.
I kept telling myself that all of it was normal.
But deep inside, I was beginning to feel embarrassed by myself.
