The Weight of Shadows by Alison Strobel

looked like the work of an angry cat. She’d picked up a few more shirts like it yesterday. They drew fewer comments than long sleeves in the warm spring weather.
    The phone rang. She jumped, then scrambled to grab it from the base on the floor before it woke Corrie. “Hello?”
    “Kim, hey, it’s Patricia. I got your message last night—sorry I missed your call.”
    Usually a call from her old caseworker brought a smile to her face, but today it brought butterflies instead. “Oh, that’s alright.”
    “So you’re moving! What prompted this? I thought you liked living where you are.”
    Kim took a deep breath. “Actually, I am happy here, but…I met someone. Back in February, actually. And we’ve been dating ever since. And he asked me last week if I’d move in with him, so…here I go!”
    The beat of silence before Patricia replied made Kim’s heart sink. “Wow,” she finally said. “Well—congratulations. How did you guys meet?”
    Kim kept her tone light. She didn’t want Patricia to catch even a hint of hesitancy on her part. The closest thing Kim had ever had to a mother was Patricia’s presence in her life, and it wouldn’t take much persuasion from her to sway her feelings. But losing Rick was more important now than Patricia’s opinions. Patricia was a remnant of Kim’s past. Rick was her future. “He came to the party my roommate had on my birthday. He’s a graphic artist, and he was in foster care for a little while, too, so we really understand each other in that respect. But anyway, he’s a great guy, and he treats me like a queen, and we have so much fun together, and moving in together just feels right. I’m excited.” Please be excited for me.
    “I’m glad to know you’re so happy, Kim.”
    “Thanks.”
    An uncomfortable break followed, only a couple seconds but feeling like whole minutes. Kim cast about in her head for a new topic. “So, um, you got my new number, right?”
    “Yes, yes I did.”
    “Okay. Good.”
    “And how are things at the salon?”
    “Still good, thanks. I was thinking about training to be an aes-thetician, too, and starting a mobile salon service.” It seemed like a good thing to tell Patricia, despite the fact that she’d given up on the idea. But maybe Patricia wouldn’t think badly of her for moving so fast with Rick if she knew Kim wasn’t throwing her life away on some guy. So what if she wasn’t pursuing the mobile salon—it didn’t mean she wouldn’t pursue something new. Eventually.
    “Hey, that’s a great idea! Good for you. What does Rick think about it?”
    Kim scrambled. “He’s, um, he’s a little concerned it’ll take up so much time that we won’t get to see each other much. Which is another reason I’m moving in with him.” Though it hadn’t been until she said it. But regardless of what new path she considered, it made sense, now that she thought about it. “Between the salon and Club and training, I would be pretty busy. But it would be worth it.”
    “That’s true. That would be a great job during the prom and wedding season.”
    They spent the rest of their conversation brainstorming more ideas for the business, and by the time they rang off Kim was fired up about the idea once more. I’ll put more thought into it, do some more research, before bringing it up with Rick again. He just needs a little convincing. She tore into one of her boxes to get a notebook so she could write down the ideas they’d come up with, then sprawled on the floor and flipped through it, looking for a blank page.
    She’d had this notebook since just after graduating from the foster system. Leafing through it was a trip back in time: notes about cosmetology school, the personal budget she’d drawn up after starting her first salon job, lyrics to a song she’d heard on the radio and loved.
    As she turned the pages slowly, reading each one, she let her mind wander through her history. Then she saw the letter. She’d forgotten all