You stupid girl! Of all the words ever spoken to Sophia, these were the ones that grew the deepest roots, surfacing from the dark recesses of her memory when she made mistakes. They slid from her lips while she scanned a poor report card, failed a test, or fumbled a simple calculation. It came as no surprise to her when her college application was denied, the car wouldn’t start, or the power went out. After all, she was a stupid…
Kennedy rolled her eyes and fished her phone out of the pocket of her ever-fading blue jeans. Her mother’s attempts at wrangling the family for a picnic were, as normal, disastrous. It would take at least another thirty minutes for Mom to convince Jed to bring only one book — what a nerd. Then there was the lack of clothes Teddy was wearing, and Leo was still looking for his swim trunks. She blocked it all out and scrolled through…
Joy’s fridge was overflowing with casseroles stacked five deep as if she’d raided the grocery store for noodles and sauce. She didn’t have to open them to know they contained the likes of lasagna or macaroni and cheese. Bagged green salads, dressings, and a few loaves of garlic bread filled the crisper drawers. A barrage of guests arrived every afternoon, carrying food and insisting she put it away. She’d dutifully obeyed their commands while silently rolling her eyes. The longer…
Ruth stared at her sagging fence and shook her head. The honeysuckle had looked beautiful as it climbed up her mailbox, but now the vines had worked their way onto the fence. Their weight made it buckle ever so slightly, and she could not abide such nonsense, but if she yanked them off, would it harm the ones still encasing her letterbox? Uncertain, the question buzzed around her like a honeybee in search of pollen. She couldn’t stand there pretending…