Cable to Nothing

The morning sun hit the community pool at precisely 7:14 AM. Elena adjusted her baseball cap lower, shielding eyes that hadn't slept properly since Marcus left six weeks ago. She'd swam forty laps already, her body moving through water while her mind replayed the same arguments, the same silences.

'Vitamin D deficiency,' the doctor had said, handing her a prescription. 'Probably stress.' She'd been choking down the orange pills ever since, though she suspected no amount of supplements could fix what was missing.

Barnaby—Marcus's golden retriever, now hers by default—lay curled on her patio chair. The dog had chosen her in the divorce, or perhaps she'd simply refused to give him up. Either way, his presence was both comfort and accusation.

'Technician's here,' called the apartment manager, pointing toward the utility box where Elena sat.

The cable guy was younger than she expected, maybe twenty-five, with gentle hands and eyes that didn't quite meet hers. She watched him work through the glass patio door, saw the way he hummed while stripping wires, the deliberate care he took with each connection.

'Your internet's been down since Monday,' he said, knocking on her door frame. 'You must be going crazy.'

'I barely noticed,' she lied.

He nodded, like he understood. Like he'd heard that before.

Barnaby lifted his head at the stranger's voice, thumped his tail once against the cushion. The cable guy smiled, reached out a hand, let the dog sniff it.

'Good boy,' he said.

Elena felt something crack open in her chest—not romantic, just human. Connection stripped down to its copper wire.

'Should work now,' he said, gathering his tools. 'Call if it doesn't.'

She watched him walk away, his van pulling out of the lot. The vitamin bottle sat on her kitchen counter. The pool glittered below, empty now. Barnaby sighed, resting his chin on his paws.

Later that night, Elena checked her phone. Full signal. Perfect connection. She scrolled through contacts, stopped at Marcus's name, then kept going. Somewhere in the building, other people were sleeping, eating, living. She lay awake, petting Barnaby's soft fur, and for the first time in weeks, didn't feel entirely alone.