Evelyn’s presence was the answer.

PART 3

The sight of them together carried me backward through eight years of marriage.

Evelyn was the woman who had brought soup when Lily was born, who had insisted we buy a house near her church, who called each Wednesday to ask whether I was giving Mark enough time to rest.

She always sounded concerned.

That morning, seeing her walk toward our back door with a bag I could not identify, I realized concern had often been a way to learn our schedules.

Lily shifted beside me.