It did not excuse every later day we chose silence.

I still remember how heavy those twenty-seven pages felt in my hands.

I remember the precise moment I heard Meredith say she loved me.

I remember the way she looked when she found me in the hallway, as though an answer to a question she had carried for years might finally be within reach.

On the first anniversary of that evening, I opened the envelope containing our promises.

We sat together on the porch of the new house while the air cooled and read them aloud.