Every day at noon, he
asks if I would like a 
mint. I reply, “why
not?”  This has gone on
for 186 days. Today, I 
will refuse. It is 10:58,
we eat lunch in the
courtyard at 11:30. He
arrives before me. 
He is married. I am not.
A few times a week, 
at least 4, I ask about 
his wife. Her name is
Caroline. He calls her
“Care”.  She works at 
the type of place where
numbers get pushed around
and they make lots of 
calls. He loves her,
but I can tell she is
distant. Mostly, he talks
and I listen. We mostly
talk about Care.  Last
week, I was at a cafe 
with a friend. I saw 
Care – I recognized her
from a photo. She was
with a man. They kissed. 
I can’t take his mints 
anymore, I realized. 
It would feel like then
I would be implicated. 

︎