Tara threw her purse on the table and flipped through the mail. She stopped when she saw the pink envelope. It always signaled the beginning for her. Once the cards started to arrive, the memories would flood her. And then she’d start thinking about him.

Abandoning the task, Tara walked through her home toward the bathroom. She stripped as she went, leaving her shirt hanging off the back of the couch, her socks near the TV, her jeans with one leg inside out in the hallway. But her underwear… her underwear she always took off in the bathroom.

Just like he did.

Tara scrubbed her body clean, ready to put her feet up and relax. She didn’t want to think about what she’s lost, including herself. Tara knew she changed when he left, but she rarely acknowledged that truth, even to herself.

No, instead she would rather skip the time of year that always made her think of him, made her want him again.

But one night had nearly destroyed her. No matter what, she knew she couldn’t put herself through that again. She wouldn’t survive losing him twice.