Chapter 24: The Hard Version of Staying

It rained on the last Thursday in November, exactly as it had a year before.

I stood on Harbor Street with my daughter strapped to my chest and looked at the window of the Anchor Diner.

The corner booth was empty.

"We don't have to," Jude said, beside me.

"I know."

"We can go to the Tern House and eat Frances's chowder."

"Frances is coming at noon. So is Joelle." I shifted the carrier. "I want to go in, Jude. I want to sit in that booth."

He held the door.

The bell rang over our heads, and the smell of coffee and fried onions came out to meet us.

The waitress behind the counter looked up, and her whole face changed.

She was the one who had looked away a year ago.

"Hanna," she said. "Sit anywhere. The booth by the window's open."

"Thank you."

"The coffee's on me. And the pie, whatever you want." Her voice dropped. "I should have said something."

"You told me when I asked," I said. "That was enough."

I slid into the corner booth, and Jude sat across from me.

Linnea woke against my chest and yawned and blinked at the lights.

She was four months old, and she had my mother's chin.

I unbuckled the carrier and held her in my lap, facing the window.

The rain ran down the glass, and the street outside was gray and wet and ordinary.

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