I married my high school sweetheart at seventy-three to honor his final wish—but after his funeral, his lawyer came to my door and said, “You walked straight into his trap.”

the same, but everything felt the same.

I hadn’t married and never had children. There’d been dates over the years, a few kind men, but none of them ever became Thomas.

Thomas. I hadn’t said his name out loud in over 50 years.

He was my first love, back when we were both 17 and thought forever was a promise you could just continue reading …