We are home. She is safe. We will contact you tomorrow.
I read it twice.
The next morning, Dex came back alone.
Snow had covered the front steps. He stood outside until I opened the door.
“Can I come in?”
“Yes.”
He entered carrying a cardboard box.
“What is that?”
“Everything Petra had in her desk that belongs to you.”
He put the box on the hall table. Inside were copies of my property tax records, a spare key, two folders from Josephine, and a small envelope addressed to Harold.
I picked it up.
“I have never seen this.”
“It was in the back of her file cabinet.”
The envelope was yellowed and sealed. My name was written in Harold’s handwriting.
My fingers began to shake.
Dex took a step toward me.
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No.”
I opened it carefully.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Evelyn,
If you are reading this, I have probably failed to tell you something important in person. That is not because I do not trust you. It is because I trust you to keep going, and I have always mistaken your strength for proof that you do not need help.
The house is ours, but it was never meant to become a museum. Let the children spill things. Let the furniture change. Let the rooms belong to whoever needs them. Love is not preserved by keeping everything untouched.
I love you. Please do not confuse staying the same with staying faithful.
Harold
I read it twice. Then I held the paper against my chest.
Dex stood quietly.
“Why did Petra have this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did she read it?”
