seconds.
Then it became useful information.
I opened the front door.
Cold evening air touched my face.
I stepped outside and gently pulled the door shut. The latch clicked softly beneath the voices inside.
Nobody followed.
Nobody called my name.
I crossed the driveway and walked toward my car halfway down the block because Brenda had taken the closest space.
By the time my phone started vibrating, I was smiling.
Not because I had won.
Because for the first time in a year, the dirty dishes behind me were exactly
