What greeted her was a landscape of decay; the air was heavy with the scent of neglect, a pungent mixture of old food, musty fabrics, and something indefinably sour that made Cheyenne’s nose wrinkle in distaste. Cheyenne doesn’t need to turn around to know that Auzia has arrived, her presence as bold and unapologetic as the red heels she favors. The backyard was no less chaotic, the unchecked growth of weeds entwined with abandoned garden tools. She approached him, her movements unhurried, giving him time to adjust to her proximity. Erin went and answered the door and asked the man to come into the room, and for him to set the meals on the table for her. In the midst of folding the last of the clean clothes, Cheyenne’s gaze lingered on a sweater, Erin’s unmistakable favorite. “One step at a time, Larry. This was what Erin would have wanted for him: to let go of the past and embrace the future, no matter how painful it might be. She represented change—intimidating, yes, but also intoxicating in its potential. They fell to a pool around her ankles, and she stepped out of them, standing bare in front of Larry.
