He Spoke French to Her So I Couldn’t Understand Chapter 11

He Spoke French to Her So I Couldn’t Understand Chapter 11

Years later, the high school reunion was held in Charleston. I hadn’t planned on going, but Riley said Mr. Bennett was coming and he’d been asking about me.

The reception hall was lively again. Everyone had grown up a little. People had mostly stopped handing out unsolicited opinions about other people’s relationships.

Owen arrived last. He wore a white button-down, his presence steadier, faint tiredness beneath his

eyes.

Word was he’d kept his grades flawless, landed a residency, and was running himself ragged. Luna

didn’t come. Somebody mentioned she’d moved cities after graduation and cut contact with

everyone from high school.

A few drinks in, Mr. Bennett brought up the old senior trip and said something kind about young people and messy math. Nobody at the table picked it up. Owen held his water glass, his knuckles

bone-white.

After the banquet, he caught me in the hallway. “Sienna.”

I stopped. He saw the ring on my finger and all the blood drained from his face. “You’re married?”

I nodded. “The wedding’s next month.”

Graham had chosen that ring. Before buying it, he’d asked what style I liked, what the budget was, whether I wanted to pick it together. No dramatic surprise, no look-at-me-I’m-so-thoughtful

moment. Just two people deciding together.

Owen stared at the ring for a long time. “Is it him?”

“Yes.”

The last bit of light in his eyes went out. “Does he treat you well?”

I said, “Very well.”

Owen smiled, but his voice was wrecked. “Good.”

The elevator took forever. The hallway was so quiet you could hear traffic humming below. He pulled an old mint tin from his pocket. The paint was chipped off the edges. “I wanted to give this

back.”

END