It was, as they say, an evening of surprises. Once my father got over his shock, he brought Marie into the living room, then apologized about the mess and fetched me another glass of water. Then it was time to tell the story as they all listened intently, exclaiming at certain points — how Jeremiah had never kidn*pped his bride, how he and Nizhoni had reconciled at the end — until at last we all sat there quietly, exhausted and overwhelmed. So much had changed, and yet —
Connor was sitting close enough that we were thigh to thigh, his warmth as always reassuring, solid, real. And so some things, the important things, were still the same. We had each other.
And now…now we had a future.
He did try teasing Marie about her disappearing act, but she’d only said, “There are some times when a
