O

in my stomach. My steps carried me toward the 9/11 memorial, where the Twin Towers once stood. Th

my voice barely holding

I longed for Mom's hand smoothing my hair, her voice soft in my ear, telling

into a watercolor blur. Somewhere in the dist

voi

. Bre

o. Don't take me. I'm

rom the only home I'd ever known made it wor

another mouth to feed," she snapped one winter night. That sentence planted itself in me. It

losing everything. Es

o helped move me to Texas. She tried. Her sympathy sk

ation, brushing against my leg like he knew. Li

The words had broken on the way out, sharp w

odbye wasn't just about a dog. It was the end of on

ered the place

ne,

I'd sat alone on a cracked park bench, the wood cold beneath my palm

im, worn boots, and a cowboy h

de him..

of sadness that doesn't leave. When it reache

nder wre

ng

of the bench. The dog rested its head on my lap, and th

neatly folded cloth

at it. "Wh

cold. It warmed something in me I hadn't realized was fro

-fashioned Kleenex. I'm Samuel Martinez, but folks call

I dabbed my cheeks, the fabric offeri

h something," he breathed. "Feel free to drop by the store anytime.

led into me. T

nt, a flicker of light inside

ife in unfamiliar soil, unsure if it would take roo

Present. Not buried in the past. Focused on what's

Cool metal against warm skin.

echoed in my head, and somet

? Or is he not te

O

from the tourists and camera flashes. My fingers hovere

And rang.

d. Too rehearsed. I moved the phone away, my heart th

dial. Th

el

n in his voice scraped ag

ghtness I didn't feel. "Just wanted

distraction knotted every word. "It's... a lot. James

notes, fingers in his hair, th

" I said quietly. "Before ev

kground. The pause that f

think I can. This secti

nt than talking to your bride-to-

efore I could soften th

inish this part soon. Maybe I can call you in an hour? I kno

s that all this is

tterness rising in

e you,

whispered, but the l

dropped

an I'm about to marry. Where

and movement behind glass. Horns. F

e really ready for this? Or worse... am I re