my phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
Richard Bennett.
I answered.
“Hello?”
His voice was quiet.
“Mrs. Kelley, could we please come inside?”
I looked through the window.
“You’re already here.”
“Yes.”
“Then I assume you have something important to say.”
There was a pause.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I opened the front door.
Richard walked toward me alone.
Benjamin and Genevieve remained near the car.
That told me everything I needed to know.
This wasn’t their meeting.
It was mine.
Richard stepped inside.
He removed his coat and held it over his arm.
He looked around the living room.
The same room where Thomas and I had spent thirty-seven Christmas mornings.
The same room where Benjamin had taken his first steps.
The same room where I had sat alone after Thomas died.
Richard’s eyes settled on the photograph above the fireplace.
He swallowed.
“I haven’t been here since the funeral.”
