Third try in a row, Abby set her index finger at the beginning of her newly acquired desk toy, a two-sided sand labyrinth she’d casually admired at Lily Beth’s shop, Heart Stone, and then purchased on a whim. She pushed her finger through the grit of sand along a winding path that thus far had fallen short of the promise to quiet her mind. She needed something bigger to move her whole stressed-out body through. Who was Celeste to say she should distance herself from Charlie? Abby couldn’t tell him to stop calling her every night and take away his touchstone of comfort. Charlie would always be Luke’s father; she would always be Luke’s mother. She shouldn’t have to explain herself to Celeste. Caring for Charlie had kept her semi-sane for the last four months. Abby’s index finger jostled from the labyrinth path, spilling sand onto her desk. She sighed and swept the spilled sand back onto the toy. Peace was highly overrated. Unfortunately, Celeste’s prize-winning muffins deserved every ounce of praise that had earned their starred spot on Abby’s breakfast menu.
