"How are you?"
"Just fine. We're all fine. We're worried about you. Are you all right?"
"Never better. Did you get my last letter?"
"The one describing your house and your new friend?"
"Yup. Well—things have moved on. Patrick is more than a friend."
Her mother sighed. "Oh, Willow, I hope you're being careful."
"Mother! Of course. And I've requested a leave of absence from school."
Silence. "I was afraid of this," her mother said. Willow waited. "Your father will have a fit."
"Don't tell him until after he's had his drink."
Silence. Willow braced for where did we go wrong and what's the matter with Stanford. "Baby, are you sure?" The "sure" came from a deep place that resonated with a similar place in Willow.