Logan put his bags down by the door and looked around. It was at least twice as big as his old place, and the lighting was better.
There was also a real separation between the sleeping area and the rest of the room. "This is perfect, really."
"I'm glad you like it. The last person who lived there was a graduate student who mostly kept to himself."
"The neighbor is hushed if I have to be honest about it." Veronica went to the window and pointed down at the courtyard. "If you ever want to eat outside, there are some picnic tables down there. The landlord takes excellent care of it."
Logan noticed that she spoke in a polite and informative way, but also with a certain emotional distance, as if she were reading from a script. When she discussed the building or the neighbors, there was no warmth in her voice. She just gave facts quickly.
He asked, "Where's the laundry room?" He was trying to keep the conversation going while ignoring the system notification that remained in his peripheral vision.
"Down the stairs and to the left on the basement level. It costs $2 to wash and $2.50 to dry."
"Only quarters, and no card reader yet, but Patricia keeps saying she'll put one in."
Veronica turned away from the window and put her arms loosely across her chest. "At the end of the hall is the trash chute, and in the basement next to the laundry room are the recycling bins."
"Got it. Thanks."
There was a short, slightly awkward silence as they stood in the empty apartment. Logan began to pay more attention to Veronica, trying to figure out what the system had seen that made it think she was available even though she was wearing a wedding ring.
She was beautiful in that understated way that some women can do without trying to be flashy or draw attention to themselves. She was just naturally elegant, but there was something else about the way she carried herself that made me think she was tired or stressed.
She had dark circles under her eyes, which she had attempted to cover up with makeup. There was a tightness around her mouth that showed she was tense.
Logan saw something he hadn't noticed before when he looked at her wedding ring again. It wasn't tight.
It's not just a little loose but very loose. It spun around her finger as she talked and gestured. It seemed as though she had lost weight recently but hadn't bothered to get the ring resized.
"Do you need to know anything else?" Logan heard something in Veronica's voice when she asked. Not impatience, but a need to finish this job and get back to her own space.
"I think I'm okay... thanks again, you've been a big help."
"Good. If you need anything, I'm right next door in 4B."
"I should say that I don't always keep regular hours, so if you don't see me around a lot, that's why." She walked toward the door, clearly ready to end the conversation.
"Uh... mind if I ask what you always do?" Logan asked, not because he was genuinely interested but to keep her talking. He wanted to know what the system was seeing and why it had flagged her.
"I mostly work from home, like doing graphic design and web development as a freelancer." Veronica stopped in the doorway and put one hand on the frame. "My husband used to handle a lot of the client meetings and networking, which was nice because I'm not excellent at that."
"But now I'm responsible for everything."
There it was. Logan got it right away. Used to handle with. In the past. Not "handles," but "used to handle," like her husband was no longer around, even though she was still wearing his ring.
Logan said carefully, "That sounds hard."
"That's what it is." Veronica's face didn't change, but there was a flash of emotion in her eyes that she quickly hid. "Welcome to Riverside Apartments, Logan, anyway. I hope you get used to it."
"Thanks again for the tour."
She nodded to him quickly and then stepped back into the hallway, closing the door behind her. Logan heard her footsteps getting quieter, and then he heard his door open and close.
He was by himself in his new apartment, with his bags still packed and many questions in his head. "Okay, System. Spill the beans... now!"
[Veronica Johanson, 31, has been married to Marcus Johanson for six years. He works in sales and travels a lot for work.]
[Right now, He's in Singapore for three months on a job. And then two months in London and then again three months in Tokyo before that. For the past two years, he's been away more than he's been home.]
Logan sat on the floor with his back against the wall. "Well, I see now... she's all alone."
"But... that doesn't mean she's free."
[Her marriage has been getting worse for the last eighteen months. Many phone calls about his absence, his priorities, and whether they should contemplate getting a divorce.]
[The loose ring is because she's lost twelve pounds from stress. She hasn't told anyone about the problems, not even her family. She keeps up appearances, stays in her apartment, and slowly falls apart in private.]
"Holy fucking shit... what an asshole for allowing his wife to feel that way." Logan ran his hand through his hair, feeling a mix of emotions in his gut. "That's actually... so sad!"
[It's real. Logan, I'm not telling you to go after her. I'm just letting you know what's going on.]
[Even though she is married, she is emotionally available because the relationship is over. The paperwork just hasn't caught up with what's really going on.]
"But she's still wearing the ring."
[There are many reasons why people hold on to dying things. Fear of being alone, fear of admitting failure, and hope that things will get better. It doesn't change the fact that she's unhappy and her husband hasn't been a part of her life in years.]
...
Logan looked at the wall across from him and thought about the short conversation he had just had with Veronica. The way her eyes looked worn out.
The way she talked about her husband in the past tense without realizing it. The ring was too big for her, but she would rather not resize it because she might not have wanted to keep it on.
He said firmly, "I'm not a homewrecker, but I didn't spend two years getting better just to become a jerk who goes after married women."
[Then don't. I'm not making you do anything. I just choose targets based on how likely it is that they will work out and how well they get along with me.]
[You can do whatever you want with that information.]
[You can get to Veronica Johanson because she is emotionally available, and you two would get along.]
[Yes, her marriage is a problem, but it's not one that can't be solved. It's up to you whether you go after her or not.]