Anna, in return, constantly teased him about his terrible taste in music.
One evening, she laughed and said,
“Mom, you finally made a great choice.”
Rick laughed.
I remember smiling at both of them.
At that moment, I thought everything would be okay.
Then Rick proposed.
And for the first time since losing Daniel, I allowed myself to imagine a future that didn’t frighten me.
I said yes.
The wedding was supposed to be a new beginning.
Instead, something changed about three weeks before the ceremony.
Anna changed.
At first, it happened gradually.
She stopped joining us for dinner.
When Rick spoke to her, she barely looked at him.
If he entered the kitchen, she suddenly remembered something she needed to do upstairs.
She became withdrawn.
Then I found her crying.
Twice.
Both times, when I asked what was wrong, she wiped her face and turned away.
“Nothing, Mom.”
