My ex-wife came to see our son. She ended up staying the night. I let her sleep on the couch. After midnight, I heard something I wasn’t supposed to hear.

We just stood there.

Talking.

Quietly.

Honestly.

About things we had avoided for a long time.

What went wrong.

What didn’t.

What we were now.

At some point, we sat down

At some point, the tension shifted.

Not gone.

But different.

gh the curtains, we were still in the living room.

Still talking.

And that wall I had spent two years building—

carefully,

deliberately,

convincing myself it was necessary—

It didn’t collapse.

But it cracked.

Not in a way that felt dangerous.

Not in a way that erased everything we had learned.

In a way that made room.

For something new.

Epilogue

The next morning, Eke ran into the living room and found both of us there.

“Why are you both awake?” he asked, confused.

Adanna and I looked at each other.

Then back at him.

“Couldn’t sleep,” she said.

He shrugged, completely satisfied with that answer, and started talking about dinosaurs within seconds.

I watched them together.

Listened to her laugh.

Felt that shift in my chest again.