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It had taken Mia a long time to calm down after she’d started crying. People in the park had looked at her like she was a crazy person. As soon as she was able, she had walked briskly back towards the car, Hamlet waddling behind her trying to keep up.

When she got back to the truck, she was determined to try again. She wanted to feel connected to her dad. She drove round to the diner they’d always gone to for pancakes, but as soon as she pulled up she noticed that the whole place had been redecorated inside. Nothing looked the same. As she looked through the window that was framed by Christmas lights, she felt the tears coming again. Not wanting a public repeat of the ice rink, she hurried back to the car and sobbed in there instead.  

She’d thought coming back to the place where her and her dad had spent time together would help her feel closer to him. In truth she just felt further away. It was like it was compounding the fact that she was on h