Three Green Notebooks Left in a Cedar Chest on Elm Street

“Some of us just pay them in different ways.”

“You did not have to take from the charity fund,” I said.

Gale stopped wrapping. She held a small white teacup in her hand, her thumb tracing the gold rim.

“Are you satisfied now?” she asked, looking directly at me.

I looked at the empty shelves, the bare desk, and the small space where she had spent fifteen continue reading …