~Leo’s~

“You know you don’t have to decide tonight.”

My voice is quiet. I say it as I pour the tea between us. Jennie nods, but she doesn’t look up. She’s stirring her cup like the answer might rise up with the sugar.

The parlor is warm tonight. Just warm enough to lull you into thinking nothing in the world is burning.

But something is.

Her eyes flicker to the fireplace, then back to me. “I know,” she says.

I watch her. Not just the way she sits—tired, but proud—but the way she holds herself now. Like she’s stitched herself back together one thread at a time, even if some...