Epilogue

A few days after Easter, Kit found Wren in the New Hope chapel, sitting on the chair she’d marked as Casey’s and staring at her phone. Wren looked up when she heard footsteps. “I got a job,” she said, gesturing to the screen. Before Kit could reply, she said, “It’s only part time, but it’s something. And I can start next week.”

Kit studied her face, trying to discern whether this was news to be celebrated. “Where is it?” she asked.

“At a nursing home. It’s a cleaning job—which will no doubt be far more intense than the cleaning here—but I liked the description of what they’re trying to do for their residents, so I decided to apply. It’s set days, set hours, so I can keep working here. And I think that will be enough for now, enough to get a handle on my expenses, get my student loans out of deferment, that sort of thing.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing, quitting my job at Bethel House. But I know I couldn’t have kept going. I couldn’t manage the stress.” She pointed to her phone again. “I hope I can manage it there. If I fail at mopping floors and cleaning toilets . . . ”

Kit sat down beside her and stared at her painting of the cross and the birds, which she had persuaded Wren to hang on the wall. “Well, we can both practice living into new things,” Kit said. “Together.”

Wren turned to face her. “You talked to the board?”

“Yes, a little while ago. They’d like me to stay on through the summer while they look for my replacement, and then I’ll lead one last Sacred Journey retreat in the fall. Just the retreat, though—no more administrative duties after August. I’ve given them some names of people I think would do a wonderful job here, so we’ll see what happens.”

Wren leaned her head against Kit’s shoulder. “It’s like you’ve said in your letters. We just keep saying our next yes and trust God with all the deaths and resurrections.”

Kit gazed out the far window at a courtyard still covered in snow, then closed her eyes to imagine the two of them kneeling side by side in the dirt to bury. And to plant.