Ella was in the back room, curled in Daniel's chair. She'd heard the happy bells jangle, the ones that indicated someone had come inside the shop, and she'd wiped the very obvious tears from her eyes and walked out into the front room.
The boy standing there couldn't be 21 yet, and it made Ella feel very old at 23. She smiled, eyes puffy and nose red. "You must be Nick," she said, and she reached out a hand for him to shake.