Chapter 29
NORA
Sophia came over on a Wednesday afternoon with a bag of pastries and a smile that took me almost an hour to realize wasn't quite sitting right on her face.
"I was in the neighborhood," she said, which wasn't true, since nothing in this neighborhood was anywhere near her usual haunts, but I let it pass, taking the bag from her and leading her into the kitchen the way I always did.
We sat at the island with coffee and pastries neither of us really wanted, and she talked for a while about nothing, a new dress she'd bought, a movie she'd seen, the same easy chatter she'd always filled silences with. But there was something underneath it this time, something watchful, her eyes tracking me a beat longer than usual whenever I answered, like she was checking my responses agains
