The little reading corner became the most popular place in the shop.
Karen often sat there after closing, reading beneath a warm lamp while the city grew quiet outside.
Her divorce was finalized.
The financial disputes had been addressed through the legal process, and she was finally able to move forward without every decision being tangled in arguments about her marriage.
Michael and Karen remained distant. Their conversations were limited to practical matters, and neither pretended that their past could be repaired simply by avoiding it.
Daniel, meanwhile, was finding his own way through the changes.
He still had difficult days.
Sometimes, he needed space. Sometimes, he made jokes about our relationship that were so uncomfortable they became funny.
But he was learning that his parents’ separation did not mean he had to stop loving either of them.
And he was learning that his friendship with me could survive an uncomfortable truth.
One evening, he came into the bookstore carrying a small paper bag.
