Page 194 of The Woman Left Behind

There were all kinds of penance.

I met her when Dad worked for her, even if I didn’t really know her. I’d also seen her around town, even though, after it all started, she took pains to avoid me.

Before Mom and Dad disappeared, she thought she was queen.

After they did, she still thought she was queen, she was just quieter about it.

She could no longer convince herself she was queen.

She’d had sixteen years of constant reminders of what she’d been involved in and the tragic consequences of that, and she’d have a lifetime of all of this following her wherever she went so she’d never be queen again.

I knew her son, I went to school with him. He thought he was a little prince. And definitely her husband thought he was king.

They’d never really held those thrones, they’d just convinced themselves they did.

They couldn’t do that anymore.

Was that justice?

I didn’t know.

In that moment, though, it worked for me.

That moment might fade.

But I was going to ride it while I had it and move the eff on.

“So, I’m going to BBs because they have full-size Snickers and Twix on sale. We’re giving those out for Halloween,” I announced.

BBs was what everyone called the Box and Save, the big box store, because BBs was easier to say.

“We are?” Harry asked.

“We are,” I confirmed, enjoying watching his eyes dancing, especially after the day he’d had. “We’re also giving out hot cocoa and hot cider. Two kinds of cider, one for kids, one for adults.”

“Ah,” Harry replied.

“You will note that there’s a kind of war happening on the street.”

“I did note that,” Harry said.

But of course he would, he didn’t miss anything.

“Molly texted today and said everyone is talking about hitting our street with their kids, or even if they don’t have kids, because the decorations have gone insane.”

It wasn’t only me and Harry, Ronetta and George, and Susan and Allen who’d pulled out the stops. Nearly everyone on the block got in on the action.

Kimmy was probably in fits of glee.

But Harry frowned.

“What?” I asked.

“If that’s the case, maybe I should station cruisers at each end to close down the street so pedestrians will be safe.”

Okay.

I loved this man.

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