I did not turn around to watch him pull out of the driveway. My mother’s pearl earrings felt heavy against my neck, cold and solid, a weight that seemed to pull my chin down toward the concrete.
A group of four diners walked past me from the municipal lot, their laughter dropping off as they glanced at my face. I kept my chin up, staring at the brass handle of the heavy wooden door, refusing to look at them.
Would he actually drive all the way back to our kitchen and leave me here on the sidewalk?
The thought of walking into the dining room alone made my stomach tighten, but the image of Jake, Lily, and Noah sitting at a table with an empty chair was worse. They had saved for this dinner for two months, trading shifts at the hardware store and the clinic.
I reached out and pulled the heavy door open, the brass cool under my fingers.
