The kitchen has always been my favorite space in this house. It’s the largest room, which isn’t saying much, but it’s bright and airy. I like to keep the doors to the garden open to let in any spare breeze. Today, there’s none to be found. Shocker.
I grab some orange juice from the fridge. When the door swings closed, I stop and look at it, feeling my heart keep making its way down. It’ll be swimming in my shoes by bedtime at this rate.
The refrigerator door is papered with Isla’s drawings and old pictures that I’ve collected over the years. Little snapshots of our lives. Isla’s first crawl. Isla’s first day at kindergarten. Isla’s first day at the beach. The day she lost her first tooth. The day she put in her—
I stare at the fridge, realizing that the picture of Isla with her first se
