The counselor asked what Iris wanted her life to look like in a year.

“I want him to leave me alone,” Iris answered.

“And beyond that?”

Iris stared at the carpet.

She had spent so long arranging her life around Garrett’s moods that she had forgotten how to imagine her own ordinary future.

“I want to grow tomatoes on my balcony,” she said, surprising herself.

“And invite friends for dinner without having to warn them what topics will annoy my husband.”

The counselor smiled slightly.