Once the three of us had toddlers, planning meetings downtown became a thing of the past. My house’s open floor plan and a few judiciously placed child gates mean we can watch toddlers race from the back door to the front while still getting work done at the table. “I’ll use my phone,” Elizabeth offers, and I shoot her a grateful smile.

“It’s okay,” I say. “We’ll use my laptop.” And it is okay. Because Grace is growing so fast and our parents are so far away, Michael and I video chat—we use our camera and we call our friends and family. But we do check our phones for malware weekly. We’re not total Luddites, just careful. Because that’s a choice we’ve had to make. Cut ourselves off completely and live in fear, or move on. Our phones are links to the world, and they strengthen the relationships that matter.

Plus, it’s how I listen to podcasts.

The doorbell chimes again, and Lancelot gives a lazy woof, like he knows that bad guys don’t ring the bell. The most comforting sound in the world is the clicking of his toenails as he makes the rounds every night, touching each doorknob with his nose. “Maybe he’s a shepherd in golden retriever’s clothing,” Michael said. I think Lancelot is circling the flock, protecting our family.

I open the door, and the new girl, Jenny, stands there, one hand clenched as if she’s forcing herself to wait. This is the moment, the threshold, when she doesn’t know me and I don’t know her. Her face is narrow, her razor-cut hair emphasizing her sharp cheekbones, but her eyes are wide and vulnerable. She looks so young. Maybe in a year I’ll know all her secrets, maybe she’ll text me a dozen times a week, or maybe I’m opening the door to my next nightmare. But a door that never opens is just a prison. “Come on in,” I tell her.

I show her to the kitchen, and as the conversation eddies around me, I realize that the last episode of Crime to Chat did leave me something. It framed my time with Lena as a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Michael and I will keep going to therapy, we’ll take trips to San Antonio and Austin and South Padre, Grace will get older, she’ll go to school, our story will keep unfolding. Even if we need to testify, even when the next tragedy hits us, we’re going to be okay.

I once thought Aimee’s betrayal would ruin all my chances at a happily-ever-after, but I’ve found friends and a purpose and built a new life, one I won’t let my past with Lena destroy.