He put his arm around me, took the pen, and signed our names.

As Jack loaded up the car, I took one last look around the property. It was a beautiful day, picturesquely blue and white, and all indication of inclement weather had been completely erased. Sunshine twinkled on the house’s windows as the brown chickens pecked away at the grass below.

Jack started the car, and I climbed into the passenger seat.

“Come back soon,” the old man called from the lawn.

I held up my hand, waving in appreciation.

Jack glanced around. “Who’re you waving at?”

Chapter 23

Dear Sunshine,

Did you ever want to get married? We never talked about it.

I always thought weddings were these morbid ceremonies where two people promised one another they would never change their minds. ’Til death do us part, happy or sad, logic be damned. It just never made sense to me.

When I was a little girl, I never dreamt of my wedding day, like most do. I didn’t adorn my head with lace curtains, mimicking a veil. I never imagined walking down the aisle, arm in arm with my father. I never saw myself saying “I do.” The obligation was always too great.

Maybe it was just me. Maybe I was the unusual one.

What did you want? Did anyone ever ask you that?

Love,
G

Chapter 24

I was prescribed bupropion by Dr. Brace. A common side effect is seizures, so I became fixated on the fear that I would have one.

When I was in the seventh grade, I went on my first date with a boy named Steven at the rundown theatre in a nearby town. He was epileptic. He wore an engraved medical bracelet around his wrist so people knew what to do if anything were to happen.

A few days after our date, one of my classmates spread the news she had heard from her mother. The school was alive with gossip before the first period.

One person who didn’t know, though, was his best friend, Daniel. He’d showed up late for school that day. I was standing by my locker in the empty hallway when he came up beside me.

“Hey, Grace.” He was shorter than me; he hadn’t yet gone through a growth spurt like most of the boys in our grade. I hunched, trying to make myself smaller. He must have noticed, his dimples deepening as the corner of his mouth drew up.

When Steven took me on that date, we had doubled with Daniel and his girlfriend, Rebecca. Steven bought me popcorn and candy because I couldn’t decide which I wanted. During the movie, he’d reached over and placed his hand on mine, which was lying palm up in my lap. He gently stroked the base of my thumb with his. It was greasy and warm from the popcorn butter, but the gesture was sweet.

“Hey, Daniel.” I cleared my throat. I paused, glancing down at the checkered floor in an attempt to steady myself. “I guess you haven’t heard.”