“I was supposed to stay the weekend,” she said suddenly. I stared at her in confusion. “But I was homesick, so I called my mom and asked her to pick me up.”

“Sarai,” I said quietly, trying to get her attention, but she was a million miles away.

“So my parents came to pick me up. Of course they did,” she said with a sigh. “They had to get me early so we could go to temple. If I just would have stayed like I was supposed to…” She turned to me and shrugged her shoulders. “They shouldn’t have even been on the road yet. That wasn’t the plan.”

It all became clear as she stared at me dully.

“And you think if you wouldn’t have asked to be picked up…,” I said, my words trailing off.

“It wouldn’t have happened,” she said faintly. “We were on our way home so my mom could finish getting ready. She had hot rollers in her hair, with a scarf over them because she wasn’t planning on getting out of the car.” She looked down at her hands. “She would have hated that people saw her like that.”

“I bet she would’ve just been relieved that you were okay,” I murmured, covering her hands with mine. “That’s what parents are like.”

“If I would have just kept to the plan…,” she mumbled.

“That’s bullshit. You have no idea if they would have gotten into an accident even if they hadn’t picked you up,” I replied, making her jerk in surprise. “Sweetheart, don’t you think they’d be grateful that they got to see you one last time before they died?”

“They wouldn’t have even been on that road,” she rasped.

“Sarai.” I gave her hands a squeeze. “You can’t plan for everything.”

“I can try.”

“Yeah, you can,” I conceded with a sigh. “But some of the best things happen when you don’t plan for them.”

She didn’t reply.

“Did you know that I didn’t want to go to that stupid double date?” I said, taking a risk by bringing up Hailey and Sean. “I was planning on playing video games in my underwear.”

Sarai rolled her eyes.

“But I went and met you.”

“And I blew you off,” she said.

“And made me even more interested,” I confessed.

She shook her head. “You’re twisting it.”

“No, baby,” I said softly. “I think you’re the one who’s twisted it. You can’t plan for everything. Life doesn’t work that way.”

I sighed and dropped my head against the back of the seat, suddenly completely worn out. Nothing I was saying would make her change her mind.

“Are you sorry you married me?” I asked finally. “Because I can’t live like this. I need to know if you’re staying or going.”