Water Running Cold

The apartment had never felt so large. Sarah stood at the kitchen sink, the water running—cold, relentless, drowning out the silence that had settled between them like dust.

"We need to talk," Mark had said three hours ago. Then he'd packed a bag and left.

The cat, Barnaby, wound around her ankles, his motor-like purr the only warmth in the room. He'd been Mark's idea—a rescue, he'd called it, though Sarah suspected Mark had needed saving more than the scarred tabby. Now Barnaby rubbed his cheek against her calf, leaving orange fur on her black work slacks. Always the practical one, Mark would have pointed this out. He'd have had a lint roller ready.

She watched the water spiral down the drain, thinking how easy it was for things to disappear without notice. Their relationship had been like that—slow erosion, nothing dramatic until the ground gave way beneath them.

The running water had started as procrastination. She'd meant to wash the breakfast dishes, but her hands had frozen under the faucet while her mind replayed the conversation. The accusations (she was distant), the defenses (he was suffocating), the quiet acknowledgment that they'd both been running from something for years.

Barnaby jumped onto the counter, nudging her hand with his wet nose. Sarah shut off the water abruptly. The sudden silence rang in her ears.

"Well," she said to the empty room. "Well."

The cat blinked slowly, then began to drink from the faucet, his pink tongue darting in and out. Life continued in small, perfect rhythms.

Sarah realized she was still wearing her work clothes from yesterday. She'd meant to change before dinner, before their anniversary dinner that wasn't happening anymore. The water had been running for hours. Her fingers were wrinkled, pale.

She turned off the faucet properly this time, watching the last drop fall. Barnaby licked his whiskers and regarded her with what looked almost like understanding.

"Come on," she said, lifting him into her arms. His warmth seeped through her blouse, solid and real. "Let's figure out what happens next."