After leaving the house, we backtracked to the interstate and were a few miles down the road before Beth spoke. When she did, I could tell from her tone that she was annoyed. “Well, that was quite an interlude,” she said. I agreed that it was and started to say something about our host, but she smacked the dashboard with one hand and said in a too-loud voice, “And what about that Jamie? Something special, am I right?” I nodded, pausing to see if she was going to keep talking or give me time to frame a response. She turned and looked at me. I could smell her hair, the…

I turned back to lock the door and heard the young people whispering. I watched them in the hall tree mirror for a second, then turned back to them, returning their smiles. I asked them if everything was okay, and they said yes in unison. I asked them to come into the kitchen, explaining that the living room is a place I avoid these days, and that the kitchen seems sunnier, even at night. I could tell they wanted to look at each other, but they didn’t, and this made me smile even more. I led the way to the kitchen, pretending I didn’t hear them whispering again. Turning the…

On the road seven hours, trying to make it home so we could check on our horses, and we took the desperation exit because we saw the McDonald’s sign. It might not be good, but we knew it would be drinkable and hot and cheap. We pulled into the lot over to the side and got out and switched off. My husband had been driving the entire stretch and he was hitting that wall, so we figured the coffee stop would be a good place to let me spot him. I slid into the driver’s seat, adjusted the things that needed adjusting, and pulled into the drive-thru lane. Friday nights…