An Elderly Couple Watched Their House From Afar Until Everything Changed

the raw, wet smell of thawing earth. Somewhere beneath the mulch in her garden beds, the hydrangea roots were waking up, pushing energy upward through dormant stems, preparing to do what they’d done every year for thirty-one years.

Bloom. Despite everything. Bloom anyway.

“Walt,” Helen said.

“Yeah?”

“Next time we pretend to go on vacation, let’s actually continue reading …