I Swapped Cake Plates at My Own Party. The Next Morning, I Found His Name on a Power of Attorney

from a bad evening. I was choosing to stay in control of my own story.

And now, as I sit in my warm, quiet house with paint under my fingernails and library books on the coffee table, I know this much:

My life belongs to me. I will protect it. And I will never apologize for that again.