We stopped for lunch at a tiny sandwich shop.

I ordered the same thing I’d ordered on the day I first met Preston, then found myself unable to eat half of it.

A few tables away, two women were arguing gently about which grandchild had inherited a crooked smile.

Their ordinary affection made tears rise without warning.

I had spent so much time preparing to prove what happened that I had barely allowed myself to grieve what should have been there instead.

Elaine did not tell me to be strong.