Chapter 15 - The Mug at the Edge
Four months later, the condo felt altered. Wyatt’s tools were gone from the hall closet, the guest room held models, and Claire no longer checked the joint account; there was no joint account. Wyatt’s repayment arrived every first Friday. Renee entered county outpatient care and stopped calling. Harper stayed in school, worked grocery shifts, and met Claire twice. They spoke carefully. Harper never called the kitchen incident a misunderstanding, and Claire never asked for forgiveness. Wyatt and Claire had filed for legal separation, not divorce. They spoke through the mediator about money and once about his old food-truck sandwich. On a cold Sunday, Wyatt came by to repair the loose cabinet hinge he had promised to fix under the agreement. He worked quietly, declined coffee, and left his chipped blue mug by the sink. Claire reset the island that night, moving papers, wiping crumbs, and straightening the bowl. Then she placed Wyatt’s mug at the far edge of the granite and left it there.
