Page 24 (2/2)

"You’ve got to watch out for pests," Mykia warned "Keep a close eye" She squinted up at the sun "You’re going to be inundated with to to do with all of them when they ripen?"

"Could I sell them here?" I said, a bit sheepishly

Mykia squeezed ht of h the zombie apocalypse"

A memory, Technicolor sharp, ran acrossme to make her secret salsa recipe, one of the few treasures his faht me when she kneould soon be a member of the Moresco family, tattered and spare as it was She passed away a few years later, and it was our only real lasting legacy

"I’ll make salsa I have an incredible recipe"

"I don’t have a decent salsa recipe," Mykia said, a s I do But if it’s soht, test run so up "I’ll learn how to can properly," I said, struggling to stay practical when all I wanted to do was hug her tightly "I proive anyone botulism"

"The lawsuit will be yours if you do," she said "But if it’s a hit? I’ll take you on at ten percent"

Anything would have been a deal in my eyes "Done," I said We shook on it

As we shared a pint of strawberries, I watched Glynnis wind herself through theout to touch plants and produce and never quiteat work," I told Mykia, "salsawill be my only source of income"

"That bad, huh?"

"That bad We’re supposed to have a presentation next week for Landon Cosle idea Not one Not even a file full of bad, in-case-of-eround I had seen the at each other like bobbleheads Byron and Rhiannon swaggered through the office like they’d seen the future and knew they had the co We wanted to pelt them with copies of Petra’s book until they screamed for mercy

"What do you do when you feel all tapped out?" Mykia asked "I work on the farain"

"Whenever I was stuck, I’d talk to ht questions to loosen the spigot" Had it been that long since I’d felt supported while I was being challenged? Over two years?

Mykia frowned "Husband, past tense You had ure out that he wasn’t fro were you married?"

"I’m sorry I have trust issues Andtwenty-one years ether"

Mykia whistled "That’s prettyup your backyard Why didn’t you want ed Soy than I illing to give But then sometimes the simplest explanation was the one that could be best understood "Sometimes I feel vulnerable without er then, for the most part"

"I hear you No offense taken"

"Good"

She whistled "I haven’t got any advice for dealing with that kind of grief My longest relationship lasted a year, and he was in Doctors Without Borders We Skyped ," I said, sensing she saw this as a fault

"I’ve got nothing for you as far as ideas go If you want to know the best ways to cook carrots to gettips? Sorry"

"I don’t think there’s any work advice that could help me at this point, unless you have a solid, kick-ass idea for selling retro frosted lipstick and false eyelashes"

Mykia laughed "Not in er"

"That could be," Mykia said, growing serious "I was thinking about what you said about change I thought about when I left dental school, and at first I felt I’d experienced the quick change you spoke of But that wasn’t right I’d been slowly er I just didn’t notice Isn’t it possible that you didn’t change overnight either? That your garden is so time?"