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"I guess it is a ," I said "The tomatoes are almost ready I feel like they’re my children, in a way Isn’t that crazy?"

"Not if you cared for theave hu to question your feelings for your to you wrote about?"

She shrugged "Yeah I think I do I change s sohts like mashed potatoes to a person’s ribs My ht"

"Are you close?"

"We were She’s passed on Didn’t know my dad"

"I’m sorry"

"For what?"

"For all of it"

"No need to be I’ for every bad thing that happened to everyone, we’d be bored out of our fucking skulls"

I thought about all of the people who said they were sorry when Jesse died I knew they meant it, and I appreciated it, but I wondered if there was so else I would have rather heard "What do you think people should say to someone who’s just lost a loved one? I don’t think there are ht for a moment "If you knew the person who died, I think you should share ayou don’t think they’d know about The wilder the better"

"And if you didn’t know the person who died?"

"Then you should ask for a goodperson have a ain"

"Couldn’t that be too painful?" I asked

"It’s all painful Listening to a hundred people apologize for so, isn’t it? They can’t reverse anything with their apologies"

I wasn’t sure I agreed with her, but it was a fresh perspective Petra was rough around the edges, but she had wisdom I suspected was hard-won

We walked back inside I sat Petra in ether--lemonade, some zucchini bread I’d made myself, and the last of Mykia’s blueberries I could hearup in my purse, but I didn’t text Jackie I didn’t check iveabout it all that much, "but how in the world did you decide to write a book about business? You seem so, I don’t knowearthy"

"I really did write the dah she didn’t seem offended She settled into the soft cushions of my couch and scooped up some blueberries

"Sorry if I i to be sincere The thought had crossed uess the better question is how did you come up with the idea?"

Her smile was sardonic "Never finished university My fa the office of the head of a public relations firm I was busy, but not that busy No one paid me much mind, so I could pay them all the mind I wanted I watched as the company sloent under I saw all the fuckups and petty, avoidable disasters I was bored out ofmind, so I took notes Eventually, I typed the bad,the effects of the strain He looked ahow the way the co That started the whole thing I got up at five in the ood ords on paper, so I kneasn’t a total nightmare When I was done, I shared it with a friend who knew so met me He’d already sold the book before he realized I was froham and talked like a Bru deal you don’t speak the Queen’s English?"