You have no idea whether it will be good or bad; you just know there is something different in the air. That was how the Monday in February began.

I got up in the morning, made coffee, and found my husband, John, already sitting at the table, buried in his phone as usual. He didn’t say anything, only drummed his fingers on the table, uncomfortably.

I nearly dropped the spoon.

– Where to?

– South. Sunshine, beach… I want to unwind a little. I had purchased the ticket.

I simply swirled the cold coffee and attempted to assemble my thoughts. We’d been saving for a vacation together for two years. We save money every month and give up a lot of things. I even held off purchasing the coat I wanted last year just so we could travel together.

– And me? My leave has not been approved yet.

“So what?” he shrugged. “Do you think it’s easy for me here?” “This greyness is making me nervous!”

– But the money is shared and we collected it collectively…

“So what?” he demanded. “I work, too! I have the right to pick when to rest!”

That’s when I first became skeptical. Something has changed in recent months. He had been increasingly distant. He even carried his phone to the restroom, a departure from his previous habit of leaving it around.