Chuck died first. Jane always knew he would go first. All the women in her family outlived their men. She learned how to handle widowhood from them. But when her turn came, she forgot her lessons.

Chuck and Jan always sat close together. Even at parties, when other couples set out in separate directions, they stayed side by side. They were just more comfortable that way. Like sitting in an old chair.

Six weeks later she died, in April, just after her daffodils bloomed. The family held a memorial picnic at the farm Chuck and Jane worked since the day they were married 43 years ago. In the back of the backyard, behind a willow, beside a creek that only appeared after snowmelt, in the shade facing the sunset, they found something that made them all sit down in the tall grass.

Title: Inseparable
First released for sale: 5/7/01
Price: $250 for a signed 13 x 19"