It is over almost as quickly as it began. Immediately the questions return. Why did he stop? Where has he been? Why did he come back? What is he thinking? I can’t stop the questions, and still no answers come. An involuntary sigh escapes my lips. Why must it all be so complicated?

Todd lifts my chin with his fingers and looks me in the eye. “I was wrong,” he says simply. I stare back at him, confused. Wrong? Todd is never wrong. What is he talking about? “I was wrong to leave,” he adds. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” Oh, that. Yeah, what were you thinking, buddy?

“Where have you been, anyway?” I demand unenthusiastically. I can’t bring myself to be mad at him for anything. Not now. He seems to understand how I feel.

“Just….places. I couldn’t stay away, though. This is my home, where I belong.”

“Why here?” I ask neutrally, not really following the conversation, but rather relishing in his attention. It’s been so long…

“Because this is where you are,” he answers quietly.