family dynamics were shifting in real time as Blake reevaluated not just his relationship with Amber, but his understanding of his own parents’ role in perpetuating certain fictions.
My phone buzzed incessantly with messages and calls—from confused wedding guests who’d arrived at an empty venue, from my sister in Phoenix demanding explanations, from Amber cycling between tearful pleas and angry accusations.
I silenced it all, focusing instead on the practical tasks at hand.
By late afternoon, a strange calm had settled over me. I sat on my back porch with
