I ended the call and wrote down what she had said while I still remembered her words.

When Rachel came home from work that afternoon, she found me at the table making a list of earlier incidents.

“It’s not revenge,” I said before she could ask.

“I know,” she replied.

“It’s remembering.”

PART 7

My first meeting with a family-law attorney was not what I expected.

I had imagined a dramatic conversation about removing Brenda from my home by sunset.