She was seated alone in the last pew, not crying, not bowing her head.. only observing. She was calm and self-contained, dressed not in black but in gray. Her face revealed nothing, and I knew instantly that I had never seen her before.
Which meant something.
She sat alone in the back pew.
Because I recognized everyone else Richard and I had built this life side by side. Our children sat in the front row with me. Gina clutched my hand when the pastor said Richard’s name. Alex looked forward, expression blank, his jaw tight the way his father’s used to be.
But that woman in the back? She didn’t fit.
At least… not in my world.
When the final prayer ended, people began filing out of the pews.
She didn’t fit.
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