By the time Mark returned to Rosemary’s house, he was in a better mood. He had made a conscious effort to push thoughts of Claire from his mind. Mark thought about Callie, Maya, and the more pleasant events of the day. He was also thinking about the treats Rosemary had been preparing to make when he left.
Mark pulled into the side driveway and parked behind Callie’s vehicle. As he parked, he looked at the snow-covered yard and remembered Maya running in circles as they went to join Rosemary in the kitchen. Mark smiled as he thought about Maya’s pure, unadulterated joy of playing in the snow. He was still smiling as he hopped out of his vehicle and hurried inside, giving a courtesy knock as he opened the backdoor and went inside.
“Did you get everything taken care of?” Callie asked from
