Caleb didn't answer because he didn't have one. The silence stretched between them. Then, Miriam took a slow breath and said the words that would echo in Caleb's mind for weeks afterward. Come live with me. The world seemed to stop.
Caleb actually thought he had misheard her. What? I have power. Miriam gestured toward her farmhouse. I have a spare room.
Stay there until the repairs are done. Caleb stared at her. His first instinct was immediate rejection. Absolutely not. Everything inside him resisted the idea.
He wasn't homeless. He wasn't helpless. He wasn't some charity case that needed rescuing. I appreciate the offer, he said carefully, but no. Miriam didn't argue.
Why? Because That's not an answer. Caleb exhaled heavily. Because I don't need people taking care of me. Miriam's expression softened.
You think that's what this is? Isn't it? No. She looked out across the fields. This is one neighbor helping another neighbor through a rough week.
Caleb laughed humorlessly. A rough week. The words sounded ridiculous. His electricity was gone. His house was unsafe.
His daughter couldn't visit. His ex-wife was looking for reasons to challenge custody. Nothing about this felt temporary anymore. It felt like the beginning of a collapse. Miriam seemed to understand that.
Caleb, she said quietly, when someone is drowning, you don't stand on shore and admire how hard they're trying to swim. The words landed somewhere deep. Too deep. He looked away immediately. The last thing he wanted was sympathy.
Sympathy felt dangerous. Sympathy made people look at you differently. It turned you from a capable man into a problem that needed solving. And Caleb couldn't afford that. Not now.
Not when every part of his life depended on appearing strong. His phone buzzed again. This time it was Lily. The screen lit up with a picture of her smiling beside a pumpkin from last year's fall festival. Caleb stared at the image.
For a second he imagined answering and hearing her ask the same question. Can I come home? The thought hurt more than he expected. Miriam noticed the expression on his face. She didn't ask who was calling.
She already knew. Finally, Caleb slipped the phone back into his pocket. His shoulders sagged slightly. Just enough for Miriam to notice. "How long?"