The faculty member visibly relaxed. He was obviously protective of his colleague, but I’d passed the test by talking about her family. “Yes, Tom is an accomplished poet. As is Karly, of course.”

“Yes, she’s incredibly talented.”

“Great trauma can bring that out in a person,” he added.

I stuttered with surprise. “Yes.”

Trauma.

It scared me to hear that word, and I wondered what it meant. He assumed I knew something about Karly that I obviously didn’t. Something terrible. I realized that the more I said, the more it would become clear that I didn’t actually know her. Not in this world.

“Well, there’s not much I can do but head back to my hotel,” I said. “Nice talking to you. I’m sorry I missed Karly. Hopefully she’ll check her phone soon.”

“You know, she doesn’t live far away. She’s the faculty rep in Goodrich.”

“Goodrich? Is that one of the dorms?”

“Yes, it’s just a few minutes’ walk up Sheridan. If you go up there, one of the students can probably let her know you’re outside.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks a lot.”

I left the building and went back to the street. The wind whipped through the trees, and I shoved my hands in my pockets as I took the sidewalk north. As excited as I was at the idea that Karly was close by, I also found myself confronting an unhappy truth. I was trying to find a stranger. More than that, I was trying to find a stranger who’d gone through something dark in her past. Trauma.

In my mind, I couldn’t escape the idea that Karly knew me. I’d see her, and she’d be my wife, and she’d be in love with me. But none of that was true. If I simply showed up at her door, a man who’d met her once on an awful blind date years earlier, she’d wonder why I was there and what I wanted.

What did I want?

Honestly, I had no idea. I needed to protect her, but I didn’t know how to warn her of the danger from someone who was actually me.

When I got to the residence hall, I hesitated at the alley. A few lights were on inside the building, and I could see a handful of summer students through the open curtains and hear music through their windows. I debated whether to stay or just leave. What would I say if I found her?

Then, not far away, a door opened. A woman emerged from inside the dorm, lingered briefly under the lights, and then turned away toward the gardens in back. She was visible for only a moment, and all I could see was a hint of blond hair and the curve of her jaw.