The early morning air sent shivers down her arms so she turned on the heat, hoping that it would also warm her broken heart. Before leaving home, Jessica found the Purple Rain CD she purchased at a flea market years ago but never had the courage to listen to—until now. Jessica had agreed to help her friend and coworker, Jean, move her son back home after his first year at college. Jean’s husband, Ray, had an accident at the paper mill and had limited mobility in his arm. The women would make the three-hour drive to Minnesota, pack up the truck, and then return to the UP. The sun began to peek along the horizon of Lake Michigan which the two-lane highway hugged before it veered away from the water and took a path that had farms and eventually homes that generously dotted the main road into town. It was fifteen miles to Jean’s home and plenty of time for unbridled memories. Some songs Jessica skipped; others she played over and over, not sure what to do with the rawness in her chest, hoping that the songs would heal parts of her that after seventeen years continued to ache.
