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Eight Years Ago

Four suitcases That was all she needed Four suitcases to pack up everything she wanted to take with her when she left At a few months past twenty, that meant she needed one suitcase for every five years she lived in the big family home

She could’ve takenthey left behind belonged to her and her older brother Half to Maria, half to Lucas But that was technically By right of a will she’d been too young, too carefree to realize they would ever need

So, yes, she could pack up Ma Papa’s orn tools behind her as she ht She could, but she wouldn't She liked the idea of her parents’ things staying at the house, almost like they would return one day for them

It wouldn't be right, bringing theed to the house and, now, the house belonged to Lucas

Leaning over, her long dark hair a curtain, Maria patted the lid of the last suitcase, grabbed the zipper and tugged The zipper resisted She yanked It caught on the hem of the last shirt she had folded and placed on top A rush of heated Italian, a few very careful wiggles of the zipper, one

There All done

Maria straightened, backing away from her bed as she cast a careful eye around her room As she moved, she noticed that the cross she habitually wore around her neck had fallen loose as she struggled with her suitcase She rubbed the sesture, then tucked it back under her blouse

The furniture would be staying, too When she finally found a place of her own, she would take the tiy to furnish it by herself Until then, Caroline had offered her a room in her mother’s inn until she could either buy one of the few vacant properties in Hamlet or have one built

Bonnie Mitchell’s inn was the only available boarding in their set aithout actually leaving Hamlet had stayed over in her inn at least once Maria still had her key card from the last tih school class—and she made sure to tuck that in her pocket as she packed No point in Caro wasting another one on her

Maria’s quick scan revealed she’d packed everything she would be taking with her There was nothing left for her to do after that Lingering would be pointless It wasn’t like she would never come back to her for to Lucas and Caitlin

Her radio aiting for her on her old nightstand Maria didn’t have a car because there was no need for one She never left Hamlet by herself and, on the rare occasions she went out of town, Lucas brought her in his car But since it would be a pain to lug four suitcases behind her all the way towards the gulleyside where the Hamlet Inn was, Caro promised that she’d have her boyfriend, Roy, pick Maria up when she was ready

Reaching for the radio, she—