Page 88 of Piece By Piece

She took a shower, got dressed, and stood in front of the mirror looking at herself for a moment.

She looked so different from the woman who’d arrived in Seagrove three months ago.

It wasn’t dramatic, nothing other people would probably even notice.

She didn’t have a new hairdo or new clothes.

She just looked settled, like the pieces of her face had found the right arrangement.

Her shoulders were lower and not up by her ears anymore.

Her jaw was softer.

The woman in the mirror looked like someone who had stopped running.

She picked up the letter and read the last line one more time.

The crossword said STAY. I meant it. I still mean it.

She folded it carefully, put it in the crossword book, and went downstairs.

The Puzzle Post was open for business.

The sign on the door said so, and the door was unlocked.

No more locked doors.

No more glass between them.

The bell chimed when she walked in.

Grant was behind the counter.

He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

There were shadows under his eyes, and his hair was slightly less precise than normal, which for Grant meant that a single strand was out of place.

He was holding a cup of coffee, but not drinking it, just holding it.

The way that you hold something when your hands just need something to do.

He saw her and went still.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey.”

She walked to the counter and set the letter down in between them. He looked at it, then back at her.

“I read it,” she said. “Three times, actually.”

He put the coffee cup down. His hands weren’t entirely steady.

“I need to say something,” she said, “and I need you to let me finish before you respond. Can you do that?”

He nodded.

She took a deep breath.