The Spinach Between Her Teeth

The spinach was stuck between her front teeth, and she knew it. Elena could feel the green leaf with her tongue, a tiny reminder of the salad she'd barely touched at dinner. Across the table, Marcus was laughing at something his colleague said, his hand resting dangerously close to the woman's arm on his right. His iphone sat face up on the table, lighting up every few minutes with notifications he was too polite — or too calculated — to check.

Three months ago, Elena had surprised him with padel lessons for his birthday. He'd complained about his knees, about the early morning games, but she'd thought it might be something they could do together. Instead, he'd started going with *her* — Sarah, the colleague whose laughter now rang too loud across the table.

"You remember when I played baseball?" Marcus was saying, tilting another beer. "College team. Could've gone pro."

He hadn't picked up a bat in fifteen years. But the story always made its way out after his third drink, a carefully curated anecdote about the promising athlete he'd supposedly been before life — and marriage — got in the way. Elena had seen the photos. He'd sat on the bench more often than not.

Her phone buzzed. The dog walker: *Buster threw up again. Might need to go to vet.*

Buster, their golden retriever, was the only thing in their house that still greeted her with genuine enthusiasm. Marcus barely looked up from his phone when she came home these days.

"You okay, El?" Marcus's hand was on her shoulder now, his touch practiced and automatic. "You've been quiet."

The spinach was still there. She could run to the bathroom, fix it, come back and smile through the rest of the evening. That's what she always did — smooth things over, make everything fine.

Instead, she picked up her wine glass. "I'm leaving you, Marcus."

His smile faltered. The table went quiet. Sarah's hand withdrew.

"What?"

"I've enrolled Buster and I in obedience training," she said, the words coming easier than she'd expected. "And I'm taking over the padel membership. You can find somewhere else to play."

She stood up, spinach and all, and walked out with her head high. The iphone sat abandoned on the table, lighting up with Sarah's name.