“What will you do?” she asked. “Where will you go?” She pressed a hand to her chest. “You’re not moving out of town, are you? I don’t think I could take that.”

“I’m not moving away, but I am moving out of the house. I’ve already rented a condo. One of those horrible new ones by the north end of town. It’s nothing I want, but I only have a six-month lease. I need to consider my options.”

“That sounds so adult and rational. Are you really okay?”

Unity raised a shoulder. “I’m trying to be.”

Ellen searched her face. There were smudges from a lack of sleep, but otherwise, her friend looked good. Determined and a little sad, but very much herself.

“You’re moving on,” she said softly.

“I have to,” Unity admitted. “I’m getting annoying, even to myself. I can only imagine what everyone else has been thinking.”

Ellen smiled at her. “That we love you.”

“Thank you for being so patient. I didn’t realize how incredibly determined I was to stay in one place. I was going through the motions. It was like my grief was a badge of honor.”

“You’re not the first person to do that. What about Thaddeus?”

At the question, Unity’s mouth drooped and her shoulders rounded.

“I don’t know.”

“But you still like him, don’t you? I thought he was a great guy.”

Unity nodded slowly. “He is and he’s been really good to me. I miss him so much.”

Ellen waited a second, then said, “But?”

“But I’m not going back to him until I’m sure. I put him through a lot and he waited a lot longer than I deserved before walking away. I’m going to get my act together before I go see him.”

“You know there’s a risk in that.”

“He could move on to someone else.” Unity looked at Ellen. “I think about that all the time and it terrifies me. But I can’t go back and then be unsure.”

“Are you unsure?”

Unity smiled. “Less and less each day.” The smile faded. “I think I might have fallen in love with him. At least a little.”

“Seriously?” Ellen slid forward on the sofa and hugged her. “That’s huge. I haven’t even met him, so we have to take care of that right away. In love?”

“I don’t know. I miss him and I think about him all the time. He’s a good guy, but so different from Stuart. Can I love them both?”

“Of course. You’ll always love Stuart. If he hadn’t died, you would still be together and you wouldn’t have given Thaddeus a moment’s thought. But he’s not with you and there’s this wonderful man who is so good to you.”

“That’s what I tell myself.” Unity smiled at her. “Okay, enough about me. Speaking of potential boyfriends, what’s going on with Keith?”

Ellen planned to say something funny but shocked herself, and possibly Unity, by bursting into tears.

“I’m a mess and so is my life.”