The porch light was already on when she pulled into the driveway.
Grandma Nina opened the door before Sofia even knocked.
She looked smaller than Sofia remembered, and more fragile.
Her eyes brimmed with uncertainty.
“I’m not here to yell,” Sofia said quickly. “I just… You have to tell me everything.”
Grandma Nina stepped back to let her in.
Her hands trembled slightly as she gestured toward the living room.
Sofia followed her, taking a seat on the edge of the same couch where she had spent childhood summers watching late-night television and eating ice cream sandwiches.
For a long time, her grandmother just stared at the photo in her lap — the same one she had shown Ethan on the day of the wedding.
“I haven’t said his name in fifty years,” she said quietly.
