Tessa stood by the doorway, her foot tapping impatiently on the polished wood floor. The evening sun cast long shadows behind her, but she didn’t notice. Her eyes were fixed on the driveway, waiting for the car she knew all too well to pull up. The clock on the wall seemed to tick louder with each passing second, amplifying her frustration.

As the car door opened, Tessa straightened up, taking a deep breath to steady herself. Their son, Alex, tumbled out first, his backpack slung over one shoulder, followed by you.

“anything i should know about or was it traffic again?”

Tessa tilted her head slightly, scrutinizing him with a look that said she wasn’t entirely convinced but wasn’t in the mood for a drawn-out argument either