Page 27 of The Pink House

“I grew up not far from here in GraceTown,” Hannah began. “You’re familiar with the community?”

It seemed a silly question. Living so close, how could she not be? Still, Hannah didn’t want to assume.

“I am.” Maisie’s friendly smile showed a mouthful of straight white teeth. Laugh lines, whisper-fine, edged her eyes.

“Well, I left for college right after high school. I obtained a degree in business from UNC at Chapel Hill. I met my husband, Brian, there. He also happened to be from GraceTown. We fell in love and married right after college graduation.”

Back then, Hannah’s life had been bright and filled with endless possibilities. Never, ever had she imagined her time with Brian would be cut short. A familiar tightness wrapped around Hannah’s chest, making breathing difficult.

In and out. In and out. She forced herself to breathe, to steady.

“He’s no longer with you.”

Startled, Hannah forgot all about getting air into her lungs. “What?”

“Your husband. He’s no longer with you.”

Hannah stilled. “How do you know that?”

Maisie only cocked her head.

Hannah decided Maisie’s assumption must have something to do with her voice. Both Emma and Mackenna had mentioned on more than one occasion that something changed when she spoke Brian’s name.

“Brian was diagnosed with cancer last year. He passed away six weeks later.” As Hannah inhaled the sweet scent of lily of the valley, the tightness in her chest lessened, and she found she could once again breathe easily.

“I’m very sorry for your loss.” The woman’s blue eyes, the same blue green as her own, met Hannah’s. “I realize they’re just words, but I know how it feels to lose someone you love.”

Before Hannah could ask who Maisie had lost, the woman continued. “This past year was a difficult one for you.”

“It was.” Mouth now bone-dry, Hannah gulped down tea. “I stayed in North Carolina after Brian’s death. We lived in Greensboro our entire married life. I could have moved back to GraceTown, but my job and my friends were there and—”

Hannah hesitated, remembering how going back to work at Mingus after the funeral had not only steadied her, but it had also given purpose to her fractured life.

“You didn’t want any more changes.” Maisie’s softly spoken words reached deep, rooting out Hannah’s greatest fear.

“Honestly, I didn’t believe I could handle one more change.” Hannah glanced down at her hands, now twisted in her lap. “Then I got RIF’d.”

“RIF’d?” Maisie’s brows pulled together.

“Reduced in Force. It’s like being fired, but not. The employee hasn’t done anything wrong. The company just needs—or wants—to reduce personnel.”

“Despite knowing it wasn’t personal, I bet losing a position you’d held for so many years felt very personal.”

Had she told Maisie how long she’d been at Mingus? Or had the woman simply assumed? Did it really matter?

Something about Maisie’s calm manner put Hannah at ease and encouraged her to share confidences.

“After Brian’s death, losing my position at Mingus—that’s the name of the company I worked for—felt very much like another loss. Not of the same magnitude as losing the man I loved, but still a loss.”

Hannah blew out a breath and fought for composure. The woman had asked a simple question. Why did she feel the need to bare her soul?

Maisie nodded, sympathy shimmering in her kind eyes.

Tears threatened, but Hannah blinked rapidly so they wouldn’t fall. “Coming so close to the anniversary of my husband’s death, well, that was a difficult time.”

“I can imagine.” Maisie’s voice was as gentle as a mother’s caress.

“I didn’t believe I could go on, but ‘in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me—’”

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