PART 17

By spring our divorce was moving toward a settlement.

We had agreed to sell the house unless one of us could afford a fair buyout.

The house had held our wedding gifts, pregnancy announcements, and the long nights I spent listening for two tiny breaths.

Parting with it felt like erasing a chapter, even though I knew walls were not the same as safety.

I toured a smaller rental with a patch of grass and a sunny kitchen.