Yes

With that thought in mind, I pulled out my phone and shot off a text to him, my fingers trembling slightly as I typed out the words.

“Can we talk tomorrow?” I asked, keeping my message purposely vague. “There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

Setting the phone aside then, I finished making my tea and took it into the living room to drink. As I sat there sipping the hot liquid, though, my phone pinged with an incoming message.

My pulse raced as I read Tyrone’s response, my stomach twisting itself into knots.

“Of course,” he had replied. “Is everything okay?”

I hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Finally, I decided to keep things simple.

“Just want to talk to you,” I wrote back. “No worries.”

Even as I hit send, though, worry was eating away at me. What if Tyrone didn’t want to see me anymore? What if our relationship was over before it had even really begun?

The thought brought tears to my eyes, and I quickly brushed them away. I was being silly, letting my imagination run away from me.

Whatever happened between Tyrone and me, I would be okay. Because no matter what, I was strong enough to handle it.

Despite my resolution to stay strong, I found it nearly impossible to concentrate the next morning. My mind kept drifting back to Tyrone, wondering what he wanted to talk to me about and what the outcome of our conversation would be.

Was he going to break up with me? Tell me that he had fallen for someone younger and more vibrant? Or maybe he had changed his mind and decided that I wasn’t what he wanted after all.

The thoughts swirled through my head, each one worse than the last. By the time he arrived at my house later that afternoon, I was a nervous wreck, my insides twisted into knots and my heart pounding in my chest.

When I opened the door to let him in, I was surprised to find that he looked just as nervous as I felt. His hands were shoved into his pockets and there was a worried expression on his face, his brow furrowed slightly as if he were in deep thought.

“Hey,” I said softly, stepping aside to let him in. I tried to keep my tone light, but the wariness I felt came through all the same.

“Hi.” His voice was quiet, and he didn’t quite meet my eyes as he moved past me into the house.

We went into the living room together, sitting down on the couch side by side. But the easy affection that had been present between us before was noticeably absent now, the air thick with tension as we faced each other.

“Is everything okay?” I finally asked, unable to stand the silence any longer. My voice sounded small, almost childlike, and I hated the hint of fear I could hear in my words.

But if Tyrone noticed, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just offered me a sad smile, reaching out to take my hand in his.

“I’m sorry I’ve been distant lately,” he told me then, his dark eyes locked on mine. “The truth is, there’s something I need to tell you. Something I probably should have told you a while ago.”

My heart began to race at his words, my mind conjuring up all sorts of horrible scenarios. Was he married? Did he have a kid? Was he dying?

“What is it?” I asked, unable to hide the note of fear that had crept into my voice. “Tyrone, you’re scaring me.”

He winced slightly at that, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t be scared,” he said softly. “It’s nothing like that, I promise.”

But before he could say anything more, we were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Both of us looked up to find my son Tarquin standing in the entryway, home from school earlier than I had expected.