Brittany eventually moved to another city for work.

She sent Rose one last card thanking her for the cake and saying she was learning to be more honest about money and promises.

Grandma placed it in a drawer with other family letters, neither displaying it nor throwing it away.

By then, life had begun to make room for other things.

Brandon returned to a woodworking class he’d abandoned during wedding planning.

He built a small shelf for Grandma’s kitchen, then rebuilt it because the first one sat crooked against the wall.