I get dressed, each movement slow and deliberate, the choice of clothing laborious. I even put some makeup on to cover the dark circles under my eyes and even out my skin tone. When I’m done, I look much better on the outside than I feel on the inside.

The smell of bacon reaches me as I head down the stairs, which is a surprise, considering I didn’t have any in the fridge as of last night. A plate of bacon sits on the table along with some toast and two mugs of coffee. Ezra stands at the stove and is just sliding some eggs out of the frying pan when I arrive.

“Good morning,” he says in his typically cheery way. “Come sit down and have some breakfast.” He brings the eggs to the table and pulls out a chair.

I plop down in it. “I’m confused.” I point at the eggs and bacon.

He sits down across from me. “I packed them along with the dinner food.”

A laugh of surprise escapes me. “Well, that was a bit presumptuous, wasn’t it?”

“Can you really say that, considering I’m sitting at your table the next morning?” I roll my eyes at him. “I think the packing of bacon and eggs could be called more optimistic than presumptuous.”

I can’t help but smile. “Fine, we’ll call them optimistic bacon and eggs, then.”

He pushes one of the mugs of coffee toward me. “I don’t know how you take it, so I just left it black. I haven’t learned your adult ways since we left off in childhood.”

I gratefully wrap my hand around the mug. “I like it black.”

“Aw, just like your personality,” he jokes, and once again I can’t help but laugh. He’s literally clearing away the heaviness just by being here.

I hold up the mug in a small salute. “Touché, my friend.”

I wouldn’t have thought I could eat a full breakfast feeling the way I do, but as soon as I get one taste of that bacon, I become ravenous, eating five pieces, two fried eggs, and three slices of toast.

“June, we really need to take care of your food situation,” he says, once my plate has been pretty much licked clean. “Can I take you into town to do some shopping? I mean, every time I put food in front of you, you’re like a homeless woman who hasn’t eaten in days.”

“And you don’t get off on that?”

“Surprisingly, no,” he says, his beautiful eyes twinkling, making everything in me suddenly feel buoyant.