“You’re here now,” I said. My heart thudded so loudly I wondered if he heard. Of course he would be worried about telling me of his engagement. I think he suspected—he knew—that it would hurt me. But I would not retreat from him, or deny my love, or fall back into the patterns I pledged to leave behind.

“Indeed.” He cleared his throat and sat carefully beside me. I’d finally gotten him in bed, I thought, and such perfect timing.

Steps in the hallway, and Wallis and Cricket made their entrance before he could say another word. They greeted Atlas without their usual warmth, courteous but stiff. They stood, awkwardly looking at their feet and at the strange, beige carpet newly slapped over the original heart pine. Wallis broke the silence. “Congratulations,” she told him.

“For what?” he asked, without the slightest hint of insincerity. I had the urge to scream.

“Your engagement,” Wallis said. “Obviously.” Her little laugh was skeptical. “We saw Ari’s post. You did a nice job picking the ring. It’s huge. It suits her.” Wallis was needling him, and I wasn’t sure I minded.

“Oh,” he said. His eyes flicked back and forth between all of us. “Oh, no—I mean—yes, Ari’s engaged, but not to me.”

“Not to you!” Cricket said, drawing back in disbelief.

“No,” Atlas said. “No, we’ve been broken up for about a month now. She went traveling for a bit, back to London, actually. She reconnected with a former boyfriend there, and he proposed. When you know, you know, it seems. She called me last week to inform me.”

That young couple from before, holding hands, came to the door, peeked in. Wallis rounded on them. “Move along,” she snapped.

“Are you serious?” the woman asked her.

“Deadly,” Wallis said.

They grumbled, but did as they were told. Perhaps they saw that I was failing to hold back tears. Perhaps that scared them off.

“Don’t cry,” Atlas murmured, rubbing my shoulder. “I’m so sorry to have upset you.”

“She thought you were going to marry another woman,” Wallis said. “Let her be upset for a minute.”

“Of course,” Atlas said, repentant, hand back at his side.

From me, this question, as soon as my tears allowed: “Why did you break up?”