

The Mourning Belly


Now, dressed in a simple blue dress, barefoot, she watched as Graham lit the last of the candles intended to light the dinner. He did it with a funny and completely unnecessary concentration, as if he were launching a spaceship into the sky.
“Three, two, one. Take off!” Tina whispered with a smile, but Graham heard her whisper, deliberately clear, like a news anchor, and laughed as soon as the candle lit up.