“Come on, girl, drop the formalities. I’m not a stranger. Am I?” she said.

Lopez could not control what came out of her mouth. She voiced out one of the questions in her head.

“What are you doing here, Hannah?”

“Is it a crime to come and say hi to my daughter-in-law?”

“Daughter-in-law?” Lopez exclaimed in her head again.

She would be doing more of that. She was caught off guard, and until she regained her composure, responding in her head would be her saving grace.

The word seemed strange to her. She had never considered herself a daughter-in-law to Hannah. Aside from the fact that the marriage wasn’t real,...