I told her that her father had a way of sounding like whatever he needed to sound like, and she nodded, and I could see her decide to believe him anyway.

She got in and pulled out, and her taillights grew small down Linden Court.

Then I walked around to the side door and pressed the lock, and the keypad blinked green and went red.

I stood on the step with my thumb on my ring finger, where the band used to sit.

A lock isn’t much, but it was mine to set, and I told myself that was the whole point of the house.

Rachel’s grocery list was half a page long before I got my coffee down.