Remembering What's Hidden

For forty years, Ruth has answered every question with the same word: fine.

Fine when the children needed her. Fine when the marriage went quiet. Fine at the mirror; on the mornings she cannot remember the last time she felt anything at all. The flatness has a way of looking like coping. Nobody thinks to ask what is underneath it-least of all Ruth.

Then Lindi moves in across the street. A neighbor with imperfect cookies and an unhurried way of paying attention, Lindi notices the one thing Rut...