Ellie
She refused to let River see her cry. As Ellie walked briskly down the sidewalk, her arms pumping alongside her, she willed herself not to let the tears fall. She'd known that nothing would be easy about the conversation she was going to have with River when she'd left her village to drive over here, but now that it was over with, that they'd had their argument and laid everything out in the open, she felt worse than she'd imagined she would.
It felt like a goodbye. It felt like everything was over, and she didn't like it. As much as she'd meant what she'd said to River when she stormed out of his office, it was still difficult to let go.
Patricia was standing in her yard, watering the flowers with a hose when Ellie made it back to her car. River's mother turned around with a smi
