«On our anniversary? You couldn’t tell them you had plans?»
«Some things are more important than dinner, Grace.»
«More important than our anniversary? More important than eight years of marriage?»
I felt something crack inside my chest. «Please,» I said, my voice barely above a whisper. «Just sit with me for a few minutes. The food’s still warm. We can…»
«I’m not hungry,» he interrupted. «I ate already, at the meeting.»
He walked to the bedroom. I stood there in my dollar store dress, looking at the table I’d prepared with such hope. The candles flickered. The food was getting cold.
My eyes burned with tears I refused to let fall. I followed him to the bedroom. He was changing into casual clothes, his back to me.
«Brandon, we need to talk.»
«Not now, Grace, I’m exhausted.»
«We never talk anymore. You’re always at the hospital or out with colleagues or…»
«Or what?» He spun around, his voice sharp. «Say it. You think I’m doing something wrong?»
«I think you’re forgetting about us. About our marriage. About everything we’ve been through together.»
He laughed, but it wasn’t a kind sound. «Everything we’ve been through? Grace, I’m the one who went through medical school. I’m the one who’s studied for years, who works sixteen-hour shifts, who’s actually building a career. What have you done? You punched a clock. You served coffee. That’s not sacrifice. That’s just having a job.»
The words hit me like physical blows. «I worked three jobs so you could study. I gave up my education. I gave up everything.»
«No one asked you to,» his voice was loud now, angry. «That was your choice, Grace. Your decision. I never forced you to drop out of school. You made yourself into a martyr and now you want me to be grateful forever? That’s not how life works.»
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. This man, this stranger in expensive clothes standing in our bedroom, couldn’t be the same person who used to hold me and promise me forever.
«Brandon,» I whispered, «what happened to you?»
He sat on the edge of the bed, running his hands through his hair. When he looked up at me his eyes were cold, distant.
«I grew up, Grace. I evolved. I’m not that scared kid in a cramped apartment anymore. I’m a surgeon at one of the best hospitals in the country. I have colleagues who respect me, opportunities opening up, a future that’s actually going somewhere.»