Absent
There was a hole on the wall. She stared at it with the tears coming anew. This hole was not the kind that needed spackling and sanding, but the kind that needed time and space to replace the vacancy. She had just taken down the wedding portrait of her son and now former daughter-in-law. The divorce decree had been signed and the woman who had frequented their kitchen table would now be permanently absent. There are similar hallways in houses we have all been in. Black and white photos of founding family members, baby pictures never being replaced to the
