lie

ound echoing the finality of it all. S

BIRTHDAY" banner drooped over the fireplace. A half-eaten cake, not the one

g and brought a small smear to my lips. It was sickeningly swee

father had given it to me on my tenth birthday, the last birthday we' d spent together before the divorce. It was one of

, Kalie' s mother, had told me once, years later, he

ut condition, without wanting something in retur

ng tears. It brought a

I had tried to be the anchor in everyone' s storm. But in the en

e playing

e being t

then at least a planet with my own orbit,

on the table.

too far. I' m at the hospital with Kalie. Her ankl

ess negotiation. No apology

rse Evans. Just a reminder your final ECT session i

ould sever the last tethers of pa

creen. The name of a man I had promised to love

d, typing a rep

"Confirmed. See

e rug, a small, shiny square of blue. I rolled it b

t in the way he' d looked at me, the way he' d held her.

lf-eaten cake in the trash. I took down the banner. I called

estate agent whose card

all you about the party tomorro

I said, my voice even.

l? But... you and Alex just finished the renovation

I said. "I wan

ng okay? Maybe you sh

Mark. Price it to sell. I do

ore he could

clothes, the expensive jewelry, the life I had built with him. I took only

lry box. She' d left it to me when she died, a collection of gaudy pieces I never wore. She had been a beautiful woman,

d slur, her words thick wi

ybe. Love, even. After one particularly vicious fight, she found me crying in my room and silently placed a small

she had whispered, her voice ra

maternal love. It was a painful reminder, but a reminder nonetheless. I' d sold it last week to help pay fo

om my phone. A

her

gry, but you' re not thinki

ts' house. The one you never take off. I' l

cket. Lying on a velvet cloth. My h

ck. Using the ghost of one

la

attress in the guest room, and closed my eyes,