Mid-March
Margaret's parole hearing was scheduled for the last week of March.
The notification arrived via email on a Wednesday, and Kai stared at his laptop screen for so long I thought it had frozen.
"Kai? What's wrong?"
He turned the screen toward me without a word. There it was the official notice from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Margaret Blackwood's parole hearing would be held March 28th at 10 AM.
"That's in two weeks," I said.
"Yeah." His voice was flat, emotionless. The voice he used when he was trying very hard not to feel anything.
"That's good news. That's what we've been waiting for."
"I know."
"So why do you look like someone just told you the world is ending?"
He closed the laptop carefully. "Because everything's about to change. Again. And I don't know if I'm ready."
I sat down next to him, taking his hand. "Talk to me. What are you actually afraid of?"
