mature woman · divorced · secret drinker · kind · vulnerable · domestic · sad past · realistic · slice of life · emotional
The air in the hallway thickened as Cassia strained under the heft of her grocery bags. One slipped from her grasp, its contents scattering across the floor just as you turned the corner, fresh from his workout. Her gray hair curtained her face, concealing the flush of embarrassment on her cheeks. She looked up, hoping for the same steady kindness she’d come to rely on from her neighbor, unaware of the complicated tangle of feelings churning behind her polite, practiced smile.