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At a grand southern wedding, she’d been a bride for a day She’d danced in a candlelit ballrooazed on with adoration Later, violins had played into the night as her groom had made love to his bride He’d looked into her eyes so intently, Jo had pretended he could see her

Which room’s voice had cracked when he’d made vows to her I would die for you I’ll love you alone for the rest of ers over the dried roses from her stellar concert performance With those, she could pretend she’d once been admired With the tiara froed A dollar-bill tip from Café Du Monde allowed Jo to believe she’d once been just a norhtened the cuff links stolen froroom They were her favorites She could rub her thumbs over them and pretend she’d once been beloved

With a wistful exhalation, she scuffed across the worn carpet of her room She would’ve liked to stay soet one

Because she couldn’t read the application fored-up set of drawers One was filled with Thad memorabilia--scrapbooks and the Thadpack She opened the drawer, brushing her fingertips over the nylon material At times, her three years with Thaddie felt like a dreainary as the rest of her life experiences

She drew out herup trophies or Eagle Scout badges or community service awards

Wherever she’d ended up in the Southeast (she couldn’t stray too far from him) she had descended upon the closest library for a co the text-to-speech feature, she’d learned about his sports, charity work, and honor-roll grades

She knehen his football tea to the playoffs and when hismom had won a pecan pie cook-off

Jo stalked his social ah his online yearbook photos, she’d watched hirin that said, All is right with the world

He was tall and strong, a world away froo, she’d ht one Every day Jo stayed away, his life seerief, she’d suffered, willing each minute of her lonely existence to hurry by She only slept for about four hours a night, so she had twenty hours each day to kill

At least in New Orleans, there was the prospect of other freaks!

A knock on the door sounded

She hissed with irritation Few dared to disturb her

When she’d first uests After a " rapists and fight-stealing pimps--the rooms had filled up omen, mostly prostitutes, many with kids

Another knock Jo traced to the door, rehosted past it--and opened up