I Hope This Finds You Well

by Natalie Sue

So much of what I do here has nothing to do with my actual job, yet these little interactions matter so much.

There’s a hint of hardness in her eyes. There’s no way to stop the world from getting to her.

it isn’t anything like I’d built in my head.

Her chest shakes, and she whispers into my hair, “Oh, baby, I love you no matter what.” She tightens her hands around me. “So much of the things I was hoping to protect you from I couldn’t. But I will always be here for you.”

I take a breath and the smile comes easily. I think about the person I was when I worked there, but I can’t find her. And that feels like power, after all.