Chapter 11: Dusk

The light had gone soft and orange by the time people started gathering bags and saying their goodbyes. The pool was quieter. The grills had been shut down. A few couples lingered near the outdoor bar with the last of their drinks, but the yard was emptying in that slow, polite way parties do when the sun drops. I was still at the table under the big umbrella with Ryan and two of the senior directors. Simon and Mark. Both of them had that easy confidence that came with having been at the company long enough to stop worrying about looking busy. Their wives sat a few feet away, talking about school calendars and some charity thing one of them was organizing. The conversation at our table had drifted from third-quarter deliverables to the usual fourth-quarter push and who would own the cross-team coordination this time.

I kept half an eye on the yard. Sarah had been with the group of women for most of the afternoon. Every time I looked over, she was still there, still laughing, still holding a drink. The cover-up had stayed off. That alone felt like progress. She looked smaller than the other women, but she didn’t look like she was trying to disappear anymore.