Chapter 19
The train rumbled along the tracks, the scenery outside slipping past like a film reel.
Leonard leaned against the window, watching a couple seated across from him.
The man was gently peeling an orange, and as he handed the segments over, the woman playfully swatted his hand, only to brush her fingertips against his in a quiet, affectionate gesture.
It was such an ordinary moment. And yet, so tender.
Leonard swallowed hard.
Unbidden, Evelyn’s face surfaced in his mind.
She would always be there on the couch, quietly waiting for him to come home late.
She’d press his crumpled shirts and never complain, even if it meant staying up into the early hours.
When he’d fallen ill, she hadn’t left his side all night-and the next morning, the dark circles under her eyes
were even worse than his.
Everyone who met her had nothing but praise.
Looking back… he’d truly taken her for granted.
Guilt welled up in his chest, so sharp it nearly stole his breath.
“Leonard?” The voice startled him. He looked up to see an old classmate, Ben Ryan. “Where’s Evelyn?”
Leonard sat up straight, forcing a smile. “She went to visit her parents. Had something to take care of.”
“Ah, that’s a shame,” Ben said, rubbing his hands together earnestly.
“I was hoping to take her out for a meal to say thank you! You have no idea-my wife’s health finally turned
around, and she’s even pregnant now! All thanks to Evelyn.”
Leonard froze. “Her? She’s not a doctor… what could she possibly have done?”
“She’s no doctor, but she did more than any of them!”Ben laughed. “My wife couldn’t get pregnant and was a mess. Evelyn came by, talked with her, helped her relax, even found her recipes-and slowly, she really got
better.”
Leonard felt the air drain from the room.
Evelyn had never once mentioned this.
She had only ever quietly said she “wanted to go in for a check-up.”
He knew she wanted a child. But he’d made sure she’d never get that chance.
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Ben was still talking, clapping him on the back. “You’ve been married a while now. Never thought about kids? Evelyn would make an amazing mother.”
A loud ringing filled Leonard’s ears.
His stomach dropped.
He couldn’t speak.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about it.
It was that he’d gotten a vasectomy years ago-afraid that if Lillian ever found out he was married with a
child, she’d be devastated.
And he never had the courage to tell Evelyn.
He kept telling himself, “I’ll explain someday.”
But “someday” never came.
“I-I need to use the restroom,” Leonard muttered and stumbled down the aisle like a man fleeing a crime
scene.
When the arrival announcement blared through the intercom, Leonard was still standing in the vestibule
between cars, the cold air from the cracked window slicing through his coat.
He took a deep breath and stepped off the train.
Outside the station, the air was even colder.
He pulled his coat tighter around him, unfolded a small, creased slip of paper-the address he’d memorized
by heart.
A long row of factory dorms stretched into the night.
Leonard looked up at the lit window.
He didn’t know which one was hers.
But he knew she was somewhere behind that warm glow.
He didn’t go up.
He just stood beneath a sycamore tree, staring at that faint light for a very, very long time.
The wind carried a chill.
But for the first time in days-his heart felt strangely at peace.
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