Margaret Walks Across the High School Stage on a Warm June Morning
I let out a slow, trembling breath, believing she had finally accepted the boundary. I watched her turn and walk back toward the main building, her head down, thinking she was finally safe from Vance’s reach.
By three in the afternoon, the heat had settled deep into our small house. I stood in the living room, staring at Olivia’s graduation cap resting on the end table. I picked it up, feeling the smooth, stiff fabric under my fingers, and carried it down the short hallway to our bedroom.
I opened my blue suitcase on the bed. I began packing quietly, folding my cotton blouses and placing them in neat rows next to my toiletries.
Brian stood in the bedroom doorway, his hands wedged deep into his pockets. He watched me without moving, his broad shoulders hunched forward. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs, a deep line forming between his brows.
“What are you doing, Margaret?” he asked, his voice short and gruff.
“I am going to stay at the Pine Crest Motel,” I said, without looking up from my packing.
