2024-01-03 18:14

“Have you been happy?” Julie asked.

“Of course,” I said, not noticing the tense she’d used.

“Even having to hide?”

“That may have been the best part.” I’d hidden myself pretty well, I thought. New country. New name. New hobbies. A job that let me get by without drawing on family accounts. “Well, second best,” I said, reaching to draw her close.

The door opened and three men came in. “Quite a little love you’ve got here,” father said.

“Sorry,” Julie said, her face against my chest.

Philip Brewer @philipbrewer