Being tired from work and playing therapist to my heartbroken sister, I bought a random plane ticket just to relax again. Mexico promised escape\u2014until I boarded the flight\u2026 and sitting near the one man I never wanted to see again: her ex-husband.<\/p>\n
I dragged myself home like I was hauling bricks on my back after the longest shift of my week. Every step felt like I was walking through thick mud.<\/p>\n
I turned on the faucet, splashed cold water on my face, and took a deep breath. Then another.<\/p>\n
No time for weakness. Not now. Not with her here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m home,\u201d I said, loud enough to carry down the hall.<\/p>\n
From the bedroom, I heard it\u2014the sound I\u2019d grown used to.<\/p>\n
Jolene appeared in the hallway, wrapped in my old flannel robe, her eyes red and puffy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey,\u201d I said gently.<\/p>\n
For illustrative purpose only
\nHer voice had been gone for days, swallowed by sadness.<\/p>\n
It had been a full month since she moved in.<\/p>\n
A full month since Dean left her, without notifications or even a half-decent excuse.<\/p>\n
Since then, she\u2019d barely eaten, barely slept.<\/p>\n
That night, after I made us dinner and watched her push peas around her plate, I cleaned the dishes while she curled up on the couch, another quiet storm breaking behind her eyes.<\/p>\n
I walked up to the counter and said, \u201cGive me the first ticket out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCanc\u00fan, Mexico,\u201d the woman said.<\/p>\n
Perfect.<\/p>\n
I smiled for the first time in weeks. Not a forced smile. A real one.<\/p>\n
Until I boarded the plane.<\/p>\n
And there he was. Dean.<\/p>\n
For illustrative purpose only
\nOf all the people on Earth, why him?<\/p>\n
He said something I couldn\u2019t understand, gesturing toward a dusty blue car parked nearby.<\/p>\n
I gave a nervous laugh, pulled out my phone, and opened the translator app.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need a hotel,\u201d I typed.<\/p>\n
He leaned in, read it, and nodded quickly. \u201cS\u00ed, s\u00ed,\u201d he said, pointing again at the car and then to my suitcase.<\/p>\n
\u201cWow. Full service,\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n
He took it like it weighed nothing, opened the trunk, tossed it in, and gave me another wide grin.<\/p>\n
But before I could reach the door, the engine roared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait!\u201d I shouted.<\/p>\n
Too late.<\/p>\n
He hit the gas and sped off, my suitcase bouncing in the trunk like a final insult.<\/p>\n
I just stood there. Frozen. Mouth open. Mind empty.<\/p>\n
He stole it. He really stole it. My bag. My passport. My wallet. My clothes. All of it.<\/p>\n
Gone.<\/p>\n
For illustrative purpose only
\nI sat down hard on the steps outside the airport, my knees wobbly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSusan?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up. My vision blurred from tears and sun.<\/p>\n
Of course. Dean.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay?\u201d he asked, coming closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just got robbed!\u201d I shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took everything\u2014my suitcase, my passport, my money\u2014everything!\u201d<\/p>\n
Dean blinked. \u201cWhat? Who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he was a cab driver. I asked him for a hotel. He smiled, and then he just\u2014he just took off!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright,\u201d he said. \u201cCome on. Let\u2019s go report it. We\u2019ll fix this.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
I wanted to yell. Tell him to get lost. But what good would that do?<\/p>\n
He was the only person I knew in Mexico.<\/p>\n
For illustrative purpose only
\nAnd I was too tired, too lost, and too alone to say no.<\/p>\n
Dean stood at the counter, talking to the officer behind the glass. And not just talking\u2014really talking.<\/p>\n
I watched him list every detail: the make and model of the car, the man\u2019s hair, his shirt, even the small scratch on the bumper.<\/p>\n
I blinked, stunned.<\/p>\n
When he finally walked back to me, he had a tired smile on his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said they\u2019ll find the guy by tomorrow,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve seen this scam before. Someone like that doesn\u2019t get far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dean looked at me for a second before clearing his throat. \u201cListen\u2026 you can stay in my hotel room tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked. \u201cSeriously?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are two beds,\u201d he said quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you don\u2019t have your passport or money. It\u2019s late. You need a place to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. But no weird stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a creep, Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n
We left the station and rode in silence.<\/p>\n
His room smelled faintly like clean sheets and coconut soap.<\/p>\n
Dean sat on the other bed and looked down at the floor. The silence stretched between us like a tight rope.<\/p>\n
For illustrative purpose only
\nFinally, he spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you so angry with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
I let out a dry laugh. \u201cAre you really asking that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. I want to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left Jolene,\u201d I snapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s been sleeping in my guest room, crying into her pillow every night. You broke her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t leave without saying anything. I told her the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned. \u201cWhat truth?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dean leaned forward, bumps on his knees.
\n\u201cThat we were growing apart. That we were holding on just because we used to love each other. But that wasn\u2019t enough anymore. It hadn\u2019t been for a while.\u201dBest gifts for your loved ones<\/p>\n
I folded my arms. \u201cSo you got bored. Decided to chase someone new.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI fell for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stopped me cold. My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t look away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re kidding,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not,\u201d Dean replied quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t planned. I didn\u2019t mean for it to happen. But every time I saw you\u2026 it was different. I felt seen. I could breathe around you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what, Dean? You blow up your marriage and now you confess all this to me like it\u2019s some kind of rom-com ending?\u201d<\/p>\n
For illustrative purpose only
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t say it hoping for something. I told you because I needed to be honest. For once in my life, I wanted to say the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because the truth is, there had always been something. Small sparks I never dared to feed..<\/p>\n
I hated it. And I hated myself for not hating him enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to sleep,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cWe\u2019ll deal with this tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the morning, the police called. They had my things. I packed up without speaking to Dean.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t look at him\u2014not without wanting something I wasn\u2019t ready to want.<\/p>\n
Back home, the air felt colder. Quieter. Jolene was still staying at my place.<\/p>\n
Later, I opened my phone and found Dean\u2019s contact.<\/p>\n
I stared at it for a long time. Then, against everything I thought I knew, I typed:<\/p>\n
\u201cHow about coffee sometime?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it was selfish.<\/p>\n
But maybe it was honest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Being tired from work and playing therapist to my heartbroken sister, I bought a random plane ticket just to relax again. Mexico promised escape\u2014until I boarded the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n