When was it that she started coming home late?
“Don’t wait up for dinner tonight.”
Looking at the message on my phone, I closed the refrigerator door.
I glanced at the clock; it was already past eight in the evening.
After debating for a moment what to do with the meal I had been in the middle of preparing, I ultimately decided to just whip up something simple for myself.
We had been living together for three years.
If counting from when we started dating, it had been six years.
It was a long relationship.
Because of that, things like this weren’t unusual.
There were days when work got busy.
There were days when she had dinner with friends.
At least, that was what I thought.
Even so, there was a slight sense of unease about her recently. In the past, whenever she was going to be late, she would always send a proper message:
“Sorry, I’ll be late today.”
“Go ahead and eat without me.”
“Should I pick up something on my way back?”
Short, thoughtful messages like those.
Now, it was different.
“Don’t wait up for dinner.”
That was all.
I didn’t feel like asking for a reason.
It would have been simple enough to ask, but for some reason, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
It happened on one such day.
“I can come pick you up at the station today.”
When I sent that to her after work, her reply came back:
“It’s fine. Saeki-kun is giving me a ride.”
Saeki-kun.
That was a name I had been hearing a lot lately.
“Is Saeki the coworker you mentioned before?”
“Yeah. You remembered.”
“Well, I’ve heard his name a few times.”
“Yeah. He’s a really great guy.”
When she said that much, a faint prickle of hesitation caught in my mind.
It wasn’t that I held anything against her coworker.
It was just…
Lately, I had been hearing that name far too often.
“Alright, drive safe on the way home.”
“Yeah.”
The conversation ended there.
I set my phone down.
At the time, I really didn’t suspect a thing.
Because I trusted her.
That night, she didn’t get back until past ten.
“I’m home.”
“Welcome back.”
I went to the entryway to greet her.
She looked no different than usual.
However, as I stepped closer, she pulled back ever so slightly.
“…What’s wrong?”
“Huh?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I figured it was just my imagination.
While I was cleaning up the kitchen, she sat on the sofa looking at her phone.
Every now and then, she would giggle at the screen.
“Did something funny happen?”
“Nn-nn. It’s just from Saeki-kun.”
There was that name again.
“Is it about work?”
“Well, something like that.”
With that, she turned her phone face down.
It was really nothing major.
So, I didn’t say anything further.
After a short silence, she spoke up.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re really kind, aren’t you?”
“Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”
“No, it’s just…”
She paused for a moment to think, then offered a slight smile.
“I don’t know, it’s comforting.”
“Well, I’m glad then.”
I smiled back.
At that moment, her gaze drifted away slightly.
“…It feels like family.”
Hearing those words made me go quiet for a second.
“Family?”
“Yeah. I don’t mean it in a bad way.”
“I see.”
Even as I answered, a small knot of doubt remained rooted deep in my chest.
She picked up her phone again.
A notification flickered briefly across the screen:
Thanks for today. See you tomorrow at the office.
The sender’s name was Saeki.
I pretended not to notice.
No—
To be precise, I saw it, but I chose not to let it bother me.
We had been together for six years.
I wanted to believe in her that much.
At the time, I still didn’t know.
I didn’t know that this tiny sense of unease would eventually tear our six years together apart.