The Absorption Rate

Maya swallowed the vitamin D supplement with lukewarm coffee, the pill scraping her throat like a tiny accusation. Three months since David left, and she was still taking the vitamins he'd bought in bulk— Costco-sized bottles lined up on the counter like silent witnesses to her inability to move forward.

"You coming?" Elena called from the doorway. "Padel starts in twenty."

Maya nodded, grabbing her racket. She'd agreed to join Elena's Tuesday league because her friend insisted she needed to get out of the house, but honestly, the sport felt ridiculous— tennis for people who couldn't commit to the real thing. Kind of like her dating life lately.

The court smelled of rubber and desperation. Her opponent, a man named Marcus with kind eyes and a divorce pending, kept finding reasons to brush against her during changeovers. His iPhone buzzed constantly in his bag, the screen lighting up with messages from someone named Sarah.

"Sorry," Marcus said after the third notification, not looking sorry at all. "Ex-wife. She's having a hard time accepting the 'ex' part."

Maya served the ball into the net. "Join the club."

They played on, the glass walls enclosing them in a transparent cage where everyone could see exactly how badly they were losing. Afterward, Marcus invited her for a drink. She said no, but took his number anyway.

That night, Maya lay in bed scrolling through her contacts. David was still there, his name glowing like embers. Beside her, the vitamin bottle cast a shadow in the moonlight. She'd forgotten to take it.

Some things, she realized, you stopped needing before you even noticed they were gone.

She deleted David's contact, then added Marcus's phone. The absorption rate was faster than she'd expected.