Gemotions

The coffee shop buzzed with a Saturday morning crowd, but for Chloe, it was a silent movie. She watched Mark, her closest confidante, talk about the house his family had bought in North Carolina. He was beaming, describing the wide porch and the sunny backyard. Chloe’s smile felt stiff, a performance. She took a long, slow sip of her latte, the warmth doing little to soothe the chill creeping up her spine.

He had always wanted this, a slower pace of life, closer to his grandparents. She understood. She did. But the picture of her life without him… It was a landscape she wasn’t sure how to navigate. A chill entered into the room, seemingly.