When we broke apart, I was crying.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah." I laughed through the tears. "I just didn't think I'd get this again."
"What?"
"This feeling. Like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."
He kissed me again. Slower this time. Like he had all the time in the world and planned to use every second of it.
The fire burned lower and, outside, the rain kept falling. The dogs were asleep by the hearth, tangled together like they'd been doing this their whole lives.
Caleb pulled back slightly, rested his forehead against mine.
"Stay," he said, and it wasn’t a question.
He offered me his hand and I took it.
CHAPTER 29: ELENA
The grocery store was busy for a Saturday afternoon.
I'd spent the night at Caleb's. Woken up in his bed, sunlight streaming through the windows, his arm around me. We'd had coffee on the porch, talked about nothing important, and then I'd gone home to shower and change.
Now it was back to normal life. Groceries and errands, the ordinary rhythm of Saturday.
I grabbed a cart and headed for produce, mentally cataloging what I needed. Caleb was making dinner tomorrow—something with chicken, he'd said—but I wanted to bring wine and maybe a dessert.
I was reaching for bell peppers when I heard it.
A woman's voice, raised and distressed. "I need to go home! Where's my house?"
The produce section went quiet. People turned toward the sound, that uncomfortable awareness of someone else's crisis playing out in public.
I should've kept shopping, minded my business, but something about the voice made my stomach drop. I rounded the corner into the bakery section.
Matt and his dad stood near the bread display with Carol between them. She was pulling away from Bill's grip, agitated, her cardigan askew. Her face was flushed and frightened.
"You're lying!" She was crying now. "You're all lying to me!"
Matt had his hands up, palms out, voice low and steady. "Mom, nobody's lying. We're going home right after we finish shopping, remember?"
"No! I want to go now!"
People were staring. A woman with a toddler backed away slowly, and the store manager hovered by the deli counter, phone in hand, clearly uncertain whether to call someone.
Bill looked exhausted, older than I'd ever seen him. He was trying to guide Carol toward the exit but she kept twisting away, getting more upset.
Matt's jaw was tight, voice still calm but I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands were shaking slightly. He was barely holding it together.
I moved before I thought about it.
"Carol?" I kept my voice gentle, approaching slowly. "Hi, it's Elena."
She turned toward me, eyes wild and unfocused, but then something shifted.
"Elena? Oh—Elena, dear." The agitation drained out of her like someone had pulled a plug.
