murmur of voices from Ethan's study, followed by

arette after another, watching the g

n the kitchen, humming as she arranged flowers in a

about his birthday party next week. He's turning twenty-nine. We're t

irthday.

ed me that for his thirtieth birthday, I wou

ven sure I'd ge

led, pouring mysel

sharp suit. He went straight to Amelia,

ly met mine, c

t," I said, wan

id of emotion. "The lawyer will call you this after

for me to leave the country for colle

e not a child anymore," he warned, h

lked out together, their figures f

, the sky opened up, and

a storm. Ethan had driven all the way to my school, holding a large bla

g felt like the warmes

he umbrella fo

ater soak me to the bone. I walked without a de

. I pulled it out. It was a

ure. It was a photo of his hand intertwined wit

ers fel

n and, with a strange sense

atulat

heart I had left to give h