Our Breakup Is Fully Booked

How it begins

The breakup retreat sold its last room twelve minutes before Daniel Brooks arrived to say he could not bear another weekend pretending they were good at it.

Emma Shaw turned the laptop toward him.

SOLD OUT.

Beneath the message, two smiling versions of them stood beside a lake neither had enjoyed visiting together.

"People find us reassuring," she said.

"That's becoming expensive for everybody."

Outside the office, staff were arranging chairs beneath a banner about moving forward. Emma had chosen the wording because it required nobody to specify a direction.

Daniel set down a box of art materials.

"I brought these because I said I would. It isn't an agreement to perform our separation again."

She looked at the carefully packed paints, brushes, and thick paper. Even furious, he had protected the corners.

They had been apart for eight months. Their first joint interview about remaining friends had produced so many encouraging messages that Emma built a weekend around the idea before either of them checked whether it was true.

Now twenty guests were due by four.

"We could refund them," Daniel said.

Emma opened the budget.

He looked at the figures, then at the banner through the window.

"All right. We could begin by telling them what we can actually offer."

"Which is?"

"A place to stay. Some painting. Two adults who didn't finish a relationship cleanly enough to teach a masterclass in cleanliness."

Emma laughed before she could stop herself.

For a moment, he looked like the man she'd first met making a terrible puppet for a community play. She had loved that puppet. She could no longer remember when making things badly together had become less attractive than describing themselves well.

A car turned into the drive.

Their first guest emerged carrying a suitcase and a framed photograph facedown against her coat.

Emma closed the budget.

"We should take the banner down," she said.

Daniel picked up the stepladder without asking which part she meant.