Richard stared at me as though I had become a stranger.
In a way, I had.
I no longer recognized the frightened woman who had spent twenty-three years making herself smaller to avoid upsetting him. Standing between Richard and Ethan, I felt as if I were finally meeting the person I should have been all along.
Six weeks later, Ethan and I were living in a modest apartment across town with Hannah and baby Helen.
Hannah recovered and continued studying for her nursing certification. Caroline visited every Sunday, usually carrying groceries and telling jokes that were far worse than she realized.
I found part-time work at a bookstore. The salary was modest, and our new home was much smaller than the house I had shared with Richard, but the rooms felt lighter.
There were no secret phone calls behind locked doors.
No one examined grocery receipts as if food were a crime.
