After Betrayal. Salt on the Skin

At the very far end, where the water gets deeper, two people are splashing— a man and a girl. He dives and appears right in front of her, tossing back wet strands of hair. She laughs, slaps the water with her palm, and showers him with splashes.

I watch them and seem to freeze, unable to take even a step.

This is Dima.

My husband. The father of my child. The man I’ve lived with for more than twenty years.

And next to him— that very girl he had been looking at without taking his eyes off her during breakfast. An animator in a pink swimsuit. Long, light hair. Young. Attractive. Completely out of his life.

She says something to him— he leans in to hear her. And then, suddenly, he wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her.