Saturday Mourning

I am spending the weekend with my beautiful friend Asia, who lost her husband suddenly on Thursday night. I will process my own grief later, in private, because Joe was a dear, funny man, and I will miss him terribly. Right now I am sitting with Asia and doing what needs to be done: proofreading the email she is sending out detailing memorial plans, making sure she eats and uses her inhaler, cleaning the catbox, sorting the mail, laughing over things Joe would have loved and crying that he's not here to share them with us, and drinking endless cups of tea and trying to reassure the cats, who can't for the life of them find the other person who should be here. And every time I walk into the kitchen, I am struck by the saddest thing I think I have ever seen: