WE ATE IN THE KITCHEN until the time came for them to head back to work. Ethan allowed us an extremely tame kiss before shoving Sean out the door and into the cab of the pickup.
Once again, the house became too quiet, so the vacuum went back on, and I cleaned up the living room. Moving onto the kitchen, I unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned the already spotless work surfaces. Still unwilling to face more time spent uselessly, I hunted in the fridge for something to cook.
I took a painstakingly slow time to peel and chop vegetables, slice steak into cubes, and throw it all into the biggest pot I’d ever laid eyes on. Then I over-cleansed everything I’d used, every surface touched.
Back at the sink, I stood at the window and peered up toward the sky, where the clouds approached at a brisk pac
