The orange glow of the late afternoon sun slanted across the oak floorboards of the penthouse bedroom. Open suitcases lay resting on the wide bench at the foot of the bed, half-filled with light linen shirts, cotton dresses, summer sandals, and sun hats.
The soft rustle of tissue paper filled the quiet room as Evelyn carefully folded a yellow sundress. Outside the high windows, the Manhattan skyline shimmered under a pale blue autumn sky, but inside, the atmosphere was thick with the excited, nervous energy of two people preparing to leave their old world behind.
Tomorrow morning, a private car would take them to the airport for their tropical honeymoon–their first real break from the city in over five long years.
Evelyn paused, holding the dress in her hands, her eyes drifting toward t
