Each night, after everyone slept, Daniel crept to the garage and checked the mail box again, as if the results might magically appear sooner. He held the sealed envelope he would eventually receive in his imagination, heavy and sharp. He both craved and feared it, terrified of what truth might break him.
Claire began acting oddly just as Daniel’s mind reached its breaking point. She whispered into her phone in the hallway, hurrying to end conversations when he appeared. She hid slips of paper in her purse, brushed off questions with vague answers. To Daniel, every secret smile became a weapon.