Where did you get that ring

at the soil.

I said, “Thank you for saying that.”

Vivian nodded quickly, as if relieved.

Then she said, “Can we start over?”

There it was.

The old trap hidden inside the new apology.

A desire to jump from harm to comfort without walking through the long middle.

I wiped dirt from my hands with a towel.

“No.”

Vivian blinked.

“No?”

“No,” I said. “We can’t start continue reading …