But from the moment Claire set foot in our house, I knew I was right.
***
The party was set for six. Claire showed up hours earlier with a bouquet of tulips. She kissed Mark's cheek like she'd just popped out for milk.
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"You're taking it the wrong way. I promise."
Then she looked right past me.
"These go in the blue vase," she said.
She went straight to the cabinet and removed a blue vase I had never paid much notice to before. No searching. No asking.
That was the first moment I wondered how often Claire had pictured herself back inside this house.
She went straight to the cabinet
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I stood there holding a dish towel.
"Thanks," I said.
Why did I say thanks? I still don't know.
***
By four o'clock, she had moved my place cards. I found her at the table, my careful handwriting fanned out in her hand like a deck of cards.
