He’d spent twenty years trying to say the right thing and getting it wrong. Tonight he just stayed. After a while she leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’ve been so horrible to you,” she said. “Yes,” he agreed. “And I wasn’t always what you needed either.” A pause. “We’ve got time to do it differently.” She didn’t say anything. But she didn’t move away either.
Eventually Ray suggested she pack a bag and come back to his house for a few days. She didn’t argue. They drove through the Phoenix evening in the comfortable silence of people who have finally run out of things to hide from each other. He thought about Claire asking him not to give up. He hadn’t. He’d shown up to every single thing, even when the door stayed closed. Tonight it was open. That was enough. That was everything.