“I’m set up in Sacramento at Monica’s house.”

“I knew you were safe, but my heart just ached after you left so suddenly,” she said.

Her voice had the soft, rounded rhythm she used when smoothing over a burnt dish at church suppers.

“Christmas morning was so hectic with the bad weather and the car delivery.

Your father and I feel terrible about that piggy bank misunderstanding.”

She paused, leaving a long silence for me to fill.

I kept my hand flat on the laminate desk.