Early on, I laughed with him because I thought laughing meant we were still on the same team.
But lately, the jokes had started landing differently. Sharper. Louder when his friends were around.
« You worry too much, Bel, » Richard told me one morning when I asked him to stop mentioning it at brunch.
My husband teased me.
« I’m not worried, » I said. « I just don’t love being the punchline. »
« It’s a love language. If I couldn’t tease you, I’d have to hate you. »
I let it go.
I let a lot of things go that year because I was tired, and the triplets needed me more than I needed to be right.
***
David was the one friend who never joined in. He’d been Richard’s best friend since college and his oldest friend.
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