Bound To The Don

A'S

and it shattered acro

wh

loor, away from the window. The lights were off. Only the glow of

er cracked in the middle. Her fingers

couch.

's wo

e waves, as if I'd swallowed a live wire. I tucked my knee

ee heartbeats. Then her

r bag, you grab your passport,

find us

be f

owed. "They'd

shut

om last summer: Noah, squinting into the sun, a lopsided paper crown on

it until my

ne face down, and the

-

ands had stopped

d out croissant dough with a rolling pin that felt twice as heavy as usual.

ll hit

er. Sharp

d around with a towel over he

d out in a gray cloud. Twelve perfect cr

m so sorry, I'

opped to my hands. They were trembling so badly the tray rattl

ryt

laugh that sounded like

go anyway and patted my shoulder b

I wiped my palms on my apron, over and over, a

hen I sa

ck as a hole in the world. Engine idling. Windows

ropped throu

down. Only halfway. Only en

. Completely

me, through the glass, across a busy street, like

pin slid from my fingers and thudded onto the counter, and I did

dow sli

ed away with

edge of the counter, my he

was

need a na

-

TE'

p. Tap. Tap ag

asked from the driver's

t's

n't look

irl in a flour-streaked apron, standing frozen behind the glass with he

ed. "How d

e was holding the trash can

the wo

made them careful. I'd built an empire on it, and I

't I stop see

ing. But her chi

e," I

Tap

-

A'S

rpr

st scr

e hand and a tiny paper flower in the other, folded from a napkin, cro

made during Anatomy." He held both out like

shed his, and all of a sudden

arms arou

d his heartbeat thudded steadily against my cheek. He smell

n softer. His arms w

as low and worried.

Don't tell him

couldn't stop them. My shoulders shook, and my fingers

ispered. "Pleas

gain. He just pressed his l

ack car parked at t

n in the passenger

ic

-

partment door with a hand t

t. I kicked off my shoes, flicked on

pe lay on the floor,

p. It had been s

egan to pound, slow and heavy

d it up. The paper

a single

lips against my hair.

dn't b

k ink, in neat, elegant handwriting

m while h