Her finger pauses over the lip of the bottle.






"Thank you."

For understanding.

She applies the white pepper behind her ears and below the hollow of her throat before putting the bottle back down.

"It's not like I like the idea of all this. I just. I don't wanna give false hope. An' I'm tryin' t'show that I mean t'fix the mess I've made, not shove it off onto some man t'fix it for me."