The life we chose

Part 2 of When the lights go out

She chose her dream. He chose his.

Between departures and reunions, they build a life neither of them expected.

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She'd made that choice. She still believed in it. And she was standing at a hotel window in Sydney at midnight understanding, really understanding, for the first time, what the choosing actually cost. They'd talked about the timeline for weeks. She'd known the date on a calendar the way you know a fact, distantly, abstractly. Her eyes burned before she'd consciously decided to be upset. Chan came up behind her, felt the shift in her before she said anything and wrapped his arms around her stomach.
"Hey," he said softly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Her voice came out smaller than she wanted. "I just-I didn't think it would feel like this."
He glanced past her at the suitcases. Understanding moved across his face.
"I know," he said quietly.
She wrapped her arms around his, looking around the room, at her suitcase, the careful evidence of an ending she'd agreed to and still wasn't entirely ready for.