Page 29 of For Your Own Good

No answer, no movement. No sound of anyone other than himself.

But she’s been here.

He goes to the closet—her closet. The house is so old, it wasn’t built with a lot of storage. They never did get around to building a walk-in. Instead, there are two tiny closets in their bedroom, one for each, and the rest of their things are stored in other rooms. Each season, the clothes are rotated.

Her closet door is closed, just as it was this morning. He hesitates before flinging it open.

Empty.

Hangers with no clothes, a shelf with no shoes. Even up high, where Allison kept sweaters and handbags, there’s nothing.

Yesterday, there was. The closet was at least half-full, if not a little more. She hadn’t taken everything when she left.

Four months ago, in the dead of summer, Teddy and Allison had gone to bed at around the same time they always did. Both had read a bit before turning out the lights, though it wasn’t easy to get to sleep. There was air-conditioning, but it wasn’t enough. The heat came in through the cracks in the old doors and windows, even up from the floor. Allison hated it.

When he woke up, she was gone. Along with some of her clothes, her toiletries, and her computer.

After thirteen years of marriage, she just quit. The only thing she left behind was a bill. Right on the kitchen table. No note. Not even a Post-it. Just a bill mistakenly addressed to her instead of him.

That was the day Teddy started picking at his cuticles again. Whenever he thought about contacting her, he did that instead.

ONE MORE DAYbefore theBuglegoes live, and Courtney is finally starting to calm down.

“See?” Sonia says, pointing to the computer screen. “It looks fantastic.”

Courtney nods, maybe listening or maybe not. When she isn’t staring at the screen, she’s fielding text messages from her mother. But the next time her phone lights up, she turns it over.

“Everything okay at home?” Sonia says.

“Just the usual.”

Sonia doesn’t answer. But, yes, she knows how Ingrid is. When she’s not pushing the board or the Collaborative into action, she’s pushing her daughter to excel. Not that Courtney needs it. She’s hardly a wayward child.

Courtney flips back to the first page of the paper and starts going through it. Again.

“It looks great,” Sonia says.

“I’m submitting this issue with my applications. It has to be perfect.”

“All right.” Sonia pauses, letting the tension deflate a little. “Why don’t you run out and get some food. Let me go over it. Fresh eyes, you know?”

Courtney almost argues, but then she nods. “Yeah. Fresh eyes are good.”

“Get some air. Come back in an hour or so. That’ll give me time to go through it.”

“I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

Once Courtney is gone, Sonia goes through theBugle, as she said she would, but she starts with the article about herself. She flips through the pages on the screen until it pops up on page three. It’s after Zach’s article, after the lacrosse spotlight, but before the article about the new library wing. Not a bad placement at all.

MRS.BENJAMIN CELEBRATES 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY THIS WEEK

English teacher Sonia Benjamin will celebrate her 10-year anniversary this Friday. Benjamin attended Belmont Academy (class of 2001) and went on to attend Brown University. She received her master’s from St. John’s University and then went overseas as a volunteer for Teachers Without Borders. When she returned to the States, she came back to Belmont, which she considers her “home away from home.”

During her time here, she has been active in the Belmont community, serving on a number of committees throughout the years. She is currently a liaison to the Collaborative and faculty advisor to theBelmont Bugle.

On Friday, the school will have a day-long celebration in her honor in the Stafford Room, next to the dining hall. At noon, the anniversary ceremony will commence, and it is open to all.

Overall, Sonia is satisfied with the article, though she does wish it introduced her as “Beloved English teacher Sonia Benjamin.” It would have been more accurate.