Luke turned his back on the red barn and kept walking toward the farmhouse.

“We came here to talk to him about the contract,” Luke said.

His sentences were getting short and clipped.

“Let’s just focus on the contract.”

I let the pink ribbon slip through my fingers.

The plastic was cold and stiff against my skin.

I walked back to the gravel and followed my husband up the wooden steps.

We sat at the kitchen table with three cups of black coffee.