Chapter 37 - THE FIRST SUMMER
Summer returned to Blackwater Lake.
Noah began an internship at the local newspaper. His first article exposed unsafe wiring in a school gym. Daniel framed it beside Claire's photograph.
Lily learned to swim from Ruiz, who insisted she was only visiting because Daniel made terrible coffee.
Evelyn's memory continued to fade, but music still reached places names could not. When Noah played Claire's favorite song, Evelyn hummed every note.
Daniel stepped outside and listened through the screen door.
Happiness did not feel like the opposite of grief. It felt like a room built beside it, with a connecting door left open.
That evening, Noah asked whether they should sell Robert's mansion.
May you like
Daniel looked at the dark windows, the office, the drawer.
“Not yet,” he said. “There's one room I still have to finish.”
