Joel’s death silenced a lot of things, but the most palpable is you. You lost your husband, your other half, the person who knows you inside and out, the man who stood by your side through thick and thin.

Tommy’s heart has been sliced in half by his brother’s death, but you retreating into the shell Joel always managed to coax you from has crushed his soul into tiny pieces. You’re the light of the community, but that light is flickering and fading.

You’re haven’t made an appearance since it happened. Not wanting pity looks. Not wanting condolences. Because none of them can bring him back.

But you’ve allowed Tommy into the widowed, hollow ache of your chest, and he’s doing his best to fill it with warmth. And, now, he’s attempting to fill your empty stomach with soup. You haven’t been eating, it’s clear in your cheekbones and sluggish walk.

You’d only eat if he made it.