She nodded, and went back to her vegetables, and I understood that she was learning, young, a lesson it takes many people most of their lives to learn.

Chapter 25 — The Aisle We Walked Together

Three months after the wedding that never happened, the manager at Pine Crest called to say they had found a few personal items left behind in the chaos of that day, and would we like to come collect them.

Among the things was Hannah’s small wicker flower basket.

We drove up together on a clear, bright Saturday morning.

The terrace was empty now, all the white chairs and soft lights and wildflowers long gone, just bare stone and the tall pines swaying beyond the wooden arbor and the sunlight lying across the distant peaks.