Ruth stopped by to deliver a cake and made several inappropriate comments about my cleaning habits.
Lauren laughed.
Not a polite laugh.
A real one.
That mattered.
We ate roast chicken.
Potatoes.
Green beans.
The kind of meal I had made hundreds of times while Lauren was growing up.
Ethan helped clear the table afterward.
Lauren began washing dishes.
At one point, she reached for the blue coffee mug.
Then stopped.
“Can I use this?”