I set it in a tissue-lined envelope beside the hospital parking receipt.

I wasn’t ready to know everything my marriage would become.

I knew only that my daughter would not be going back to the house under the same conditions.

PART 11

We stayed with Ruth after Sadie was discharged.

My mother’s little brick ranch had a narrow hallway, yellow kitchen curtains, and a ridiculous collection of ceramic birds above the sink.

There was no extra bedroom, so she insisted on taking the sofa while Sadie and I shared her room.