My Parents Went to Aspen for Christmas Without Me—So I Rehomed the Dog and Kept the Paperwork

to my studio apartment with Molly in the passenger seat, her head out the window despite the cold, tongue lolling happily. When we arrived, she bounded up the stairs to our third-floor studio like she’d lived there forever, immediately finding the patch of carpet where afternoon sunlight pooled warmest and settling in with a contented sigh.

I made myself continue reading …