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Dad’s birthday was approaching

The day of it dawned bright and sunny, with a cloudless blue sky

Nina pushed the covers back and got out of bed Today was the day she’d come ho the kind of women who didn’t talk about their pain, but it had been between them always, in the air

She went to her bedroo; reen leaves and white blossoht

She grabbed her clothes from a heap on the floor, dressed quickly, and left the bedroom She wasn’t entirely sure what she’d say to her mother on this tenderest of days; she just knew that she didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts Her memories

Across the hall, she knocked on Mom’s door “Are you up?”

“Sunset,” Mom said “I’ll see you and Meredith then ”

Disappointed, Nina went down to the kitchen After a quick breakfast, she set off up the driveway to Meredith’s house, but all she found there were the huskies, sleeping in sunny patches on the porch Of course, Meredith had gone to work

“Shit ”

Since the last thing she wanted to do was roah this quiet house on Dad’s birthday, she returned to Belye Nochi, plucked her car keys fro for anything to occupy her ti the way she stopped now and then to take photographs, and at noon she ate greasy American food at the diner on Main Street

Before the day ended, though, she was back at Belye Nochi She slung her ca over her shoulder and went inside, where she found Meredith in the kitchen, putting so into the oven

“Hey,” Nina said

Meredith turned to her “I htafterward”

“Sure,” Nina said, walking over to the French doors, looking out “Hoe do this?”

Meredith cauess we just open the urn and let the ashes fall Maybe you could say so ”