Maddie isn’t home when I get back from work, and she still isn’t here when I’m ready for bed. I consider her last words to me, hearing them clatter around in my head. I don’t know how to be the man she needs right now. She thinks my fussing means I don’t trust her. How the hell do I explain to her that I have nothing else to offer beyond my organizational skills?

Unable to sit still, I stand at the counter with my laptop, finishing up my proposal ...