She’d scrubbed the kitchen walls, replaced a cabinet door, and cleared out three contractor bags of junk but it didn’t matter. The whole place still reeked of old insulation, mildew, and something harder to name.
Maybe bitterness. Maybe grief. Every day she told herself she’d leave. Every day she didn’t. There was always something to fix. Something to uncover. The next morning, Elise drove into town just to feel the air move differently.