The next morning she stepped into the shower, excited for Joe’s return home. Like oil on an old hinge, the hot water seemed to work things loose. Her throat still hurt where Gavin had clawed her. She had a lump on the back of her head where she’d hit the stone of the bridge. When she closed her eyes, she could see Gavin’s face looking up at her as he fell to the river. She could hear Sylvie pleading as Detective Vang put the handcuffs on her. And she could feel Sadie’s hand in hers as they stood in the bailiff’s station.

The more she thought about all that had happened, the more she wanted to cry—so she did. She reveled in the emotion as it pushed her to the floor of the shower, the water washing over her.

Then she pictured the look on Joe’s face as she told him what she had done—dangling above the Mississippi River with a psychopathic killer wrapped around her—and she started to laugh, hard and loud. He would be pissed that she took the risk, and he would be disappointed at the secrets she’d kept. But in the end, he would be proud of her—although he could never match the pride she felt in herself.

As she continued getting ready for the day, she rubbed a dab of scar-reduction cream on her arm and noticed that she didn’t feel the ridges strum against her fingertips. She looked more closely and saw lines so thin and small that they were nearly invisible.

Lila went to her closet and found one of the few sleeveless shirts she owned and slipped it on. She could still see her scars—she would always see them, even if they became invisible to the rest of the world—and she was okay with that.

At first she planned to welcome Joe home with a dinner of king crab legs, but that was her favorite meal. His was spaghetti. She would need to run to the store for some meatballs, and she skipped like a little girl as she went to her car. Joe was on his way home.

When she parked at the supermarket, she caught sight of a jewelry store a few doors down. She remained in her car for several minutes, staring and contemplating something crazy. Lila was willing to concede that she wasn’t in the proper frame of mind to make a wise decision. She was far too manic to be giving voice to the thoughts in her head, but she ran with her happiness anyway.

What was it Joe had said? The woman has just as much right to say when the time is right as the man. And if that time ever came…”

Lila stepped out of her car and walked toward the jewelry store, pondering whether Joe would prefer gold or silver.

Acknowledgments