Gemotions

He gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. He couldn’t shake the feeling of being off balance. He'd overheard Emily on the phone, a staccato burst of German punctuated by laughter. He pulled over to the side of the road, the engine idling.

He'd assumed she barely remembered the German she’d learned in high school. But her fluency… it was almost flawless. He felt a strange sort of vertigo, like the ground had shifted under his feet.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he got home, he found her in the kitchen, humming. He considered telling her he knew. He wasn’t sure he was ready.