Afterglow Excerpt–The End

Happy New Year, everyone.
I’m tickled to be here, talking about second chances, a theme that threads through a lot of my stories.
In Afterglow, India, the heroine of a certain age, has left her philandering husband. It’s not easy for her to get back on her feet, but with a lot of help from friends and family, and a new love of her own, she manages to find and maybe redefine herself.
I’ve posted the beginning of Afterglow a number of times. It is, in fact, up on the Afterglow page in my blog if you’d care to take a peek. Today, I’d like to turn things around and post the ending of the story.
Because, when think about it, each ending is a new beginning, isn’t it? As to how we got there, well, you’ll have to read the book and find out for yourself.

That’s how we ended up at Fat Boy’s, sitting side by side at the last booth under the Best Coffee in Town sign.
Pearl brought us apple pancakes and decaf. Then she stood back with her hands on her hips and looked us over.
“He triple dog dare you again?” she asked.
“No. Why?”
“You got your shirt on inside out.”
Mitch laughed so hard that coffee came out of his nose. “I wouldn’t laugh if I were you,” Pearl said. “Your shirt’s on
backwards.”
I took a gander at Mitch. Sure enough, the tag off his longsleeve tee-shirt was sticking out of his neck.
“Should we change?” Mitch asked.
“Not on your life,” I said.
~ * ~
I imagine that, back on Easterly Street, Allie and Liz are getting into their car, tranquilizer guns tossed into the back, and
riding home to the apartment they share. Across the way, Eva is getting an eyeful of Red’s boxers and all that’s in them. Patch, I
hope, is calling Laura and telling her she’s terrific. At the bottom of the Tamsett River, sixty-eight singleton
shoes are becoming a housing development for fish.
And, here at Fat Boy’s Diner, Mitch’s kisses taste like apples and maple syrup, with just a hint of cinnamon.