Then she said, very quietly:

“She knew my name.”

“Yes,” I said.

Claire looked at the letter for a long moment.

When she looked up, her eyes were full, but she hadn’t cried yet.

“I need to call Tom,” she said.

“My husband.

I need to tell him I’m going to be late.”

She reached for her phone.

Her hand was trembling.

Chapter 6: Everything We Lost

Tom arrived an hour later.

Claire had called him from the hallway, speaking in a low voice while Anna made fresh coffee and I sat at the table not knowing what to do with my hands.

I could hear the shape of the conversation without making out the words — the pause when she told him, the longer pause after, and then her voice again, steadier.