"Almost."

Eleanor smiled.

But Daniel didn't.

He looked troubled.

"There's something I should have told you."

Her smile disappeared.

"What?"

He shook his head.

"Not yet."

"Daniel."

"I don't want to ruin this."

"Ruin what?"

"The time we have."

She stared at him.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

He looked away.

"I'll tell you."

"When?"

"When I'm ready."

Eleanor didn't like the answer.

For the first time since they had reunited, doubt entered her heart.

The Family Begins to Worry

Daniel's daughter, Claire, noticed the change.

She pulled Eleanor aside one evening.

"Has Dad said anything strange?"

"Like what?"

"He keeps talking about things from before I was born."

"Memories?"

"Not exactly."

Eleanor hesitated.

"Your father said there was something he needed to tell me."

Claire's face changed.

"What?"

"He wouldn't say."

Claire looked genuinely frightened.

"My father has secrets."

Eleanor felt her stomach tighten.

"What kind of secrets?"

"I don't know."

"Claire."

"I'm serious. There are things about his past even I don't know."

That night, Eleanor couldn't sleep.

She began replaying old conversations.

Daniel's hesitation.

His strange behavior.

The photograph.

The phrase:

"I don't want to ruin this."

She wondered whether the man she had married had been hiding something from her.

The Confrontation

The next morning, Eleanor finally asked him.