Then I stood up, grabbed my keys, and looked in the mirror.
“I won’t scream. I won’t collapse,” I said aloud. “But I will look her in the eye.”
I didn’t know what I’d find on the other side of her front door — only that if I stayed here, the guilt would keep using my name.
“But I will look her in the eye.”Rosie’s new house sat at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, freshly painted, with green and gold balloons tied to the mailbox. Music drifted into the street, and laughter flowed loudly.
I parked across the road and watched people carry wrapped gifts through her front door.
Nancy loved green balloons.
The thought nearly buckled my knees, but I forced myself upright, walking past clusters of neighbors with plates in their hands.
Nancy loved green balloons.
A woman from my book club caught my arm. “Cassie… I didn’t expect to see you here.”
I tried to smile. “I wasn’t sure I’d come back either.”
She patted my arm and moved on.
