I stood at the edge of the lawn, the heat radiating off the gravel, and watched the vehicle disappear down the quiet road. A cloud of fine white dust rose from the driveway, hanging in the still air before slowly settling back onto the grass.
The silence of the six-bedroom house seemed to rush out to meet me, heavy and absolute.
I walked back inside, closing the heavy wooden door behind me, and turned the brass deadbolt into place.
I walked into the kitchen, my hand resting on my stomach, and sat down at the table where the blue leather tablet sat charging.
The kitchen was cooler than the driveway, but the silence inside felt different now, like a weight pressing against my chest.
I looked at the blue leather tablet, the device Caleb had left behind with his instructions to monitor the company’s social media.
An uneasy feeling, cold and sharp, began to push past my physical exhaustion as I remembered how defensive he had been about the business files.
He had told me he was leaving it behind so I could check the company’s social media accounts for Oak Creek Contracting, but he had forgotten to log out of his personal email profile.
I tapped the screen, and the device woke up with a soft chime, the screen lighting up.
A list of unopened notifications began to populate the screen, none of them related to our construction clients.
I pulled my chair closer to the table, my hand rubbing my silver wedding band as I stared at the top message.
The blue light of the tablet screen reflected in my eyes as I sat in the dark kitchen.
I tapped the mail icon on the blue leather screen, my thumb hovering over the inbox. Caleb had left his account active, the password saved in the automatic keychain.
The top message was from his sister, Brooke, sent three days ago. The subject line read simply, Plans.
I clicked it open and saw a chain of eight messages stretching back over three weeks.
