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“Hello?”
Morgan knew the voice and it brought a brief spark of joyto her heart. The voice was hoarse from years of chain smoking. It was the voiceof Lora Foster, her next-door neighbor. She’d thought of Lora often while inprison, but ever since the news of her release, she hadn’t given the old womanmuch thought. She had to be at least eighty now.
And if it was Lora, that meant Morgan was going to be metwith either good news or bad news on the other side of the door. Lora had beenthe one to keep her pit bull when she’d gone to prison. Skunk had been barelymore than a puppy when Morgan had been arrested. Ten years was a long time, butshe figured there was a good chance Skunk was still alive.
Anxious to see both Lora and Skunk, Morgan opened thedoor.
And there she was, Lora Foster with a much older Skunk intow. The old woman’s face was lined with worry and age, but her eyes sparkledwhen she saw Morgan. Lora was leaning on a cane and Skunk was wagging his tailso hard his entire body shook. Morgan wasn’t sure if the dog remembered her ornot. Maybe he was just so excited because Lora was.
“Morgan!” Lora exclaimed, her voice filled with joy. “It’sso good to see you!”
“Lora…”
The two women hugged immediately. But Lora seemed moreinterested in taking a good, long look at the neighbor she hadn’t seen innearly a decade. She broke the hug quickly and looked Morgan over in amazementand shock.
“You look so different,” she said, her voice barely awhisper.
Morgan knew that was true. She had lost weight in prison,and her hair had grown longer. She was wearing clothes that were too big forher, and she knew that she looked a little worse for wear.
“I’m sure I do. But…I’m good.”
Skunk was sniffing at the doorway and stepped inside afew paces. Morgan knelt down and hugged the old dog, tears streaming down herface. He seemed happy enough to get the attention but so far, there didn’t seemto be any recognition.
“I’ve missed you, boy,” she whispered.
Lora came closer and took Morgan’s hand. “I heard youwere coming back,” she said. “I wanted to be here to welcome you home.”
Morgan’s heart swelled with gratitude. Lora had been oneof the few people who had believed in her innocence through the entire ordeal.
“Lora, I can’t thank you enough for taking care of himwhile I was away.”
“Are you kidding? Skunk and I…we kept each other sane.”
Morgan then remembered that Lora’s husband had died justtwo months before she’d been arrested and sent to prison. When Morgan had askedLora to take care of Skunk, she’d been honored. It was, Morgan had alwaysassumed, a way to help Lora get over her loss. And she’d assumed Skunk would haveled a good, comfortable life with Lora…that he’d probably have lived up hislife—or most of it—by the time she was released from prison.
“How are you holding up?” Lora said.
“I don’t know yet,” Morgan answered, thinking about thepills in the bathroom and what she’d almost done less than three minutes ago.
“I suppose not. I mean, I can’t even imagine what youmust be going through. And…well, of course, I was just wrecked to hear aboutyour father. I’m so sorry, Morgan.”
“Thanks,” she said. She was about two deep breaths awayfrom crying—from crumbling into pieces and sobbing on the floor.
“Of course, you know I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”
“I know. Thank you so much. I know you were here, helpingDad try to keep this place looking somewhat presentable.”
“I was. But when he passed away and it came down to me…well,you saw the state of the grass outside. And…well,” she said, waving a hand arounddismissively. “I cleaned it once or twice after he passed but after a while…Iknow it’s selfish, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“Oh, you did more than enough,” Morgan said. “I truly…”
But she wasn’t sure what to say. She had Skunk back and evenif he didn’t recognize her, he seemed to like her. She had her home back. Thosethings…they were something, at least.
“I read up on how to handle you,” Lora said, lookingguilty.
“What do you mean?”
“Someone coming home from prison after a decade…should Ismother you with attention and kindness or let you adjust slowly and let youask for those things when you need them.”
