I drove straight home, my mind fixated on one memory, swirling about in my head.
A promise she hadn’t been able to keep.
I was at my computer before I realized it, fingers poised to type.
Me: Lots of pasta at this house.
She chuckled. Her: Just when your here, yesterday we had Shepherd’s pie.
Him: um, what’s that?
Her (shocked): You don’t know what shepherd’s pie is?
Me: Should I?
She shook her head disbelievingly. Her: Next time you come over I’ll make it. It was…
She stopped and turned away, biting her lip. I waited silently for her to continue. She turned back to me. Her: It was Mom’s favorite.

I closed out of the document and stared blankly at the wall for a moment, tears rolling silently down my cheeks. She’d never had a chance to make me another dinner.
Slowly, my mind began working again, and when it did, I saw something I’d missed before, as preoccupied as I was.
It was Paige’s face… or rather the look on her face, as I’d left. It was worried… and in pain.