The kind babies make when they are dreaming something better than real life…..

I opened the message thread and typed four words.

Understood. Hope you have a nice birthday.

I hit send before I could rethink it.

Then I put the phone face down, shifted the car into drive, and turned around.

The highway north felt longer than the highway south. Maybe because the illusion had broken. Maybe because every mile back to Seattle felt like I was driving away from one version of my life and toward another, and I had no idea whether that was brave or stupid or both.