Chosen to Carry

rushing over the old brass handle. The scent of aged wood and faint lave

d, letting the silence wel

range, be

e with someone else's , p

still-flat stomach. "We

t feel safe an

-

Just for bread, maybe fruit. She needed to show he

hatter. The scent of roasted nuts and old coffee

came th

ned closer to each other. One whi

ingston girl,

ouse under f

pregnant. No h

ou expect after h

her thro

oaf and moving to the counter. T

she stepped out int

outside of it, her reputation-what little she

t even starte

-

en window, bread untouched. The

ing under debt? Was this what her mother

or them. For their m

signed, she felt like she w

, her pho

ER CAL

hesi

swered.

voice was low, cautious. "I

n in the dark window - hollow

ainst the modest neighborhood. He stepped out slowly, scanning the small lawn, th

ocked

aded blue sweater and loose jeans. Her hair w

she said, st

aid I

e - well-worn furniture, old framed photos, the

ived in," h

d, shutting the door. "Barely

and he sat while she move

ust w

th a glass of water

her closely. "Ar

id, "Depends on what k

."Spencer ad

They assume things. They think

heir business,"

es. "No, but i

owly. "You should

o I feel li

nce

d to the mantelpiece, picking up a ph

rse. Nothing fancy. But it was happy," she said. "We had one bath

led fa

di

s aggressive. One night, my dad and little brother rushed

ifted - from curi

ake it through a storm. She di

Before they left, I told her maybe she sho

slowly. "You were tryin

* myself. And now... I ca

om wen

don't know why my life got spa

"You're stronger th

d at him,

verything, but you're still standi

p at him - r

r saw more than strength or sa

hing in h

ing things for love," he admi

e been looking in

quietly f

ething from his po

. "The good kind. My assista

h people really *do* have