So far he was a quiet neighbor who didn’t slam doors or turn up his TV too loud. Last night she’d heard guitar music coming from his place—a song played several times in a row. The soft rendition had lulled her to sleep, so she wasn’t about to complain.

The cold seeped through her bathrobe and made her shiver. Dena sucked in one more breath before heading inside to start her morning. She brushed her teeth, then dressed quickly. Once in the kitchen, she ate the only breakfast she was able to keep down these days. An avocado and egg salad sandwich on rye bread. Possibly gross in most circumstances, but her doctor had given it a thumbs-up.

She glanced longingly at her coffee maker, thinking how incredibly close the two of them had been, back before her life had been defined by something the size of a lima bean. Not that she had regrets—giving up coffee was so worth it for her baby’s sake, but at least she’d known that deprivation was coming. It was the morning-slash-afternoon-slash-early-evening sickness that was going to do her in.

But for now her tummy was quiet, so she filled her water bottle, retrieved her lunch from the refrigerator and headed downstairs to her car. If she could get a little cooperation from her body, she was going to have a good day—mostly because every day she was teaching was a good day. Plus there were so many things to look forward to. On Friday she would be announcing the charity project chosen for the third-grade class. Then, next Monday, they would have their monthly career day presentation. If she remembered correctly, they were hosting a plumber, a veterinarian and a Christmas tree farmer. So many possibilities, she thought as she walked to her car. She was, in every way possible, the luckiest person on the planet, and she had the life to prove it.

Two

Reggie bent at the knees and hoisted the fifty-pound bag of dog food over her shoulder. One of the reasons she’d decided to get a dog a couple of years ago had been to make herself get out of the house to go on walks. Working at home made it easy to get too sedentary. But she hadn’t counted on having to incorporate an upper body strengthening routine into her life, simply to handle the bags of dry food she bought for her roommate. On the bright side, now she could easily lift fifty pounds and toss it into the back of her SUV, next to the box of presents she’d packed.

Belle stood on the porch, watching anxiously. In addition to being, um, well, less than brave, Belle had a touch of separation anxiety. She forever seemed worried that Reggie would simply take off and leave the dog on her own.