Chapter 29 - Alex met someone.
He told me during a Tuesday drop-off.
"Her name is Sarah," he said, shifting awkwardly in the hallway. "She's a teacher. I... I'd like to introduce her to Clara eventually. If you're comfortable with that."
I looked at him.
He was nervous. He was asking for permission, respecting my boundaries as the primary parent.
"How long have you been dating?" I asked.
"Six months."
"Okay," I said. "Next month, you can bring her to the park for the handoff. We'll meet her together."
Alex looked profoundly relieved. "Thank you, Lucy. Truly."
"Just be good to her, Alex," I said.
"I will. I promise."
I believed him. The man standing in my hallway was not the man who had left me in the elevator. That man had been destroyed by his own guilt. This was the man who had rebuilt himself from the wreckage.
May you like
He would never be my husband again.
But he was finally becoming someone his daughter could be proud of.
