My Husband Sold My Two Million Dollar Land For Five Dollars To His Girlfriend
I picked them up, holding them near the warm light of the kitchen counter. I didn’t need to open them to know what was inside. They would be filled with Samuel’s rapid, defensive explanations, his promises of how he would make it up to us, and his excuses about how Lisa had ruined him.
I walked over to the stone fireplace in the living room, where the cedar logs were already crackling and casting long shadows across the floorboards. One by one, I dropped the unopened envelopes into the center of the yellow flames.
The flames in the hearth took the last of his letters, turning his excuses to gray ash.
By eight the next morning, the kitchen smelled of fried salt pork and toasted bread. Katie stood by the stove, her oversized sweater sleeves pulled down over her hands as she watched the butter melt in the iron skillet. Her books were already stacked on the corner of the table, next to her car keys and a small blue notebook.
