After her bagel run, Joy pulled into her son’s driveway, relieved Hank’s truck sat there already. She could enjoy everyone at once, tell her news once, and cry on the drive home. It took six hours to drive from Sweet Water Falls to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and Joy had spent yesterday behind the wheel and last night at Walter’s. She’d eaten dinner with him and his wife, Lexie, and their little girl, Holly.
Joy adored her granddaughter, and her sons, and everything Texas, and her throat felt like someone had rubbed it with the roughest sandpaper at the hardware store. Everything burned lately, and Joy just wanted the fire to be turned off.
She felt the pressure from her job, as they were in the thick of what Joy called the “Changing Season.” Teachers moved schools, retired, or announced
