The gray car turned around in the drive and went out toward the road.

I stood on the porch with the tool shed key in one hand and the letter in the other.

Then I folded the letter and put it inside my coat pocket.

The next morning at ten o’clock, I set two cardboard boxes of Claire’s clothes on the concrete step of Daniel’s house on Oak Ridge Drive.

Daniel opened the front door before I could step back toward my truck.

He wore a crisp blue shirt, adjusted his silk tie with one hand, and checked his gold wristwatch.