Sunday afternoons were always slow and boring to Halle. There was nothing she could do. She had run out of options. Charlie had gone over to Leah's, she didn’t feel like baking, and she was tired of the television. Halle thought about visiting Veronica later in the evening. She thought about the calls she received these last days but dismissed it. It couldn’t mean anything, she concluded. She climbed on the couch placed against the chair. Looking outside the window, she saw a blue bird on the walkway. It pecked at invisible food she couldn’t see. Probably crumbs of food. A shadow cast over the bird and it flew away. A man in casual sweatshirts and joggers walked past. He didn’t look familiar as he rushed by. The man could have been visiting somebody nearby.
Halle was thinking about the ma
