MORE TO LOVE

She chose loneliness. Love was the risk

His return brought no joy.

The house had already settled
into something else.

She moved through it
the way she always had.

Meals.
Laundry.
Small talk.

The circle around them tightened.

After the second child,
it became smaller still.

Conversations shifted.
Laughter changed shape.

She learned when to nod.
When to agree.

And when to leave the room.

It happened slowly.

A glance held too long.
A pause where there hadn’t been one.

He stayed out later.

She stopped asking why.

They asked her, eventually.

Not directly.

But enough.

She packed nothing.

Just stood in the doorway,
hands at her sides.

The house behind her.

The quiet ahead.