I laughed for the first time in days.

It felt good to be challenged by someone who wasn’t trying to make me smaller.

PART 17: THE PRICE OF A SILENT DINNER

My aunt Ruth arrived from Vermont on a Friday with a suitcase full of sweaters and enough food for a small army.

She did not ask why I had not told her sooner.

She put soup on the stove and waited until I was ready to talk.

Ruth had known Preston since our engagement.