025

Erica:

Evening came and I found myself standing in front of the mirror.

My eyes were sad and my fingers were trembling. I couldn't believe I was still going to the party. I had spent the whole day thinking about it and every thought had ended in disaster. I saw my life crumbling right in front of me. I saw myself losing Lorenzo's trust and my family would be ashamed of me.

I held the tears back and stared at myself in the mirror again.

"It's just a formal gala. It's just a formal gala."

It had been my mantra for the entire day. I didn't know if it was going to work, but tonight, I was going to find out.

I grabbed Lorenzo's coat and draped it over myself. I didn't want my kids to know where I was going and I reasoned that Lorenzo's scent on me would help me keep my senses sharp, despite how weird he had been these few days. I had still not gotten another call from him.

I gave myself one final look and grabbed my handbag. Lorenzo's coat made me look like a sleuth. If only I had a hat t