He laughed as though I had made a joke.
At the terminal, he embraced me tightly.
“I’ll FaceTime every day.”
I kissed his cheek.
“Have a safe flight.”
He walked toward security without once looking back.
I watched until he disappeared.
Then I returned to my car.
For several minutes, I sat motionless, staring through the windshield at families saying goodbye.
I wondered how I would endure another fourteen hundred and sixty days of being treated like a servant inside my own home.
Then my phone vibrated.
A banking notification illuminated the screen.
TRANSACTION ALERT: $15,000.00.
ZAO ZERO DIAMOND BOUTIQUE — FIFTH AVENUE.
I blinked.
Fifteen thousand dollars.
At an exclusive Manhattan jewelry store.
David had assured me that every unnecessary expense would stop during his overseas assignment.
Yet a luxury purchase had just appeared on one of the cards connected to my private banking account.
I checked the card number.
It belonged to David.
