38

It hadn’t exactly been the life Carla had imagined since they’d moved to Iowa. She hadn’t expected it to be easy, but she hadn’t expected it to be this hard either. However, these past few weeks, things with Mia at least seemed to be better. She was actually engaging with other kids since her father had died. Even more than that, she’d somehow got in with the popular crowd.

One night, she was cooking dinner while Bob was sitting at the kitchen island with a beer. He was on his phone again. A habit that seemed to get worse as time went on.

Trying to make conversation, she stirred the pasta sauce and then turned round to him. “You know, I’m really pleased that Mia seems to be making more of an effort these days. And it’s great it’s with Savannah a lot of the time too.”

Bob continued to tap on his phone, leaving it a good few moments before he looked up. “Hmm. I suppose.”

Carla cocked he