The strangest part was that Brad never intended to neglect her.
Neglect, Janet would later realise, rarely arrives wearing villainβs clothes.
It usually wears exhaustion. Distraction. Half-hearted intentions. An unwavering belief that love, once declared, requires no further evidence.
Brad thought love was understood. Janet thought love should be observable.
Neither realised they were speaking different languages.
Whenever something broke between them, Brad searched for explanations. Janet searched for patterns.
He wanted reasons. She wanted reliability.
He believed understanding the past would repair it.
She believed repairing it would eventually explain the past.
They stood on opposite banks of the same river, waving diagrams at each other.
