Mark’s hesitant words tripped over one another on their way out, his uneasy confidence rising. “We do whatever’s next on the calendar. It’s not that we’ve moved on to someone else—at least I haven’t.” Then a quick sideways glance to catch a reaction confirming long-held suspicions.

The brunette locks shook again.

A thought tapped in a quiet corner of Daniel’s mind. A familiarity. A feeling too close for comfort.

The skin on Mark’s rough, red hands was now striped with white. “I’m not sure how to say it—” Mark’s forty-five-minute silence cracked as his words tumbled out. Laurie squirmed on the sofa, keen to contribute, to clarify and correct. Mark looked up, sheepish embarrassment on his face. “What’s that saying? Like ships passing in the night? That’s us.”

The thought tapped again. Daniel’s jeans rustled as he shifted his weight to usher it to one side. “Thank you for your openness and honesty, Mark.” He sat with fingers steepled under his nose. “May I give you my take on where you are?”

Laurie leaned forward with an expectant nod, no doubt hopeful of an immediate solution to the pain of their marital struggle. “Please.”

“I don’t think it’s ships passing in the night. You’re sailing alone and don’t even know another ship is sailing alongside you.”

Laurie reached for the tissue box on the coffee table.

The familiarity tapped again.

“You need to bring some things out into the open. You each hold a part of the solution.” Daniel spread his hands at the expected response.

Two sets of defenses shot up with a clunk. Mark resumed the hand-wringing, and Laurie leaned deeper into the couch.

“I won’t tell you to share everything this minute, but the first step is a willingness to consider it.”

He reached to the neat stack of white-spined books on his desk and handed one to each of them. “You might have seen my book.”

Laurie snatched it and resumed her nodding—they were in his office because she’d seen Daniel on TV promoting No Secrets. All the new couples said that. His book wasn’t just a bestseller; it had lifted the practice out of near bankruptcy after Howard, his mentor and boss who had established Crossroads Counseling, passed away.

Mark studied the book’s spine, inspecting its construction.

Laurie pored over the opening pages. “All my girlfriends have said it’s as if you’ve put a lifetime’s worth of knowledge into it.”

Mark continued to study the book, its cover closed.

Daniel leaned forward with a conspiratorial whisper. “I’ve also got an audiobook version if you’re not much into reading.”

Mark smiled in relief as the men in Daniel’s office often did when given the chance to not read something.

Laurie’s eyes seemed to devour page after page, searching for the solution to her broken marriage.