A knock sounded on Keeley's bedroom door. "Honeybun? I have a surprise for you. Can I come in?"

Light streamed through the slats in her blinds, and she blinked sleepily. Morning already? She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah."

Her dad opened the door, carrying a large tray of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and a wine glass filled with orange juice. Keeley beamed at him. "What's the occasion?"

He set down the tray and joined her on the edge of the bed before mussing her hair.

"It's not every day your daughter gets into a top-30 university. I'm sorry I couldn't celebrate with you yesterday. Why don't we go check out the campus and get dinner today? I might even be persuaded to get you a T-shirt at the bookstore."

"Really?" she asked excitedly, nearly knocking over the orange juice as she lunged forward to hug her dad.

"Careful," he chuckled. "You should eat your breakfast first. Where's the letter? I want to see it."

Keeley pointed to her desk before digging into her pancakes. They were delicious but oddly shaped. She smiled wistfully. Her mom always managed to make perfectly round, identical pancakes. When asked, she would simply wink and say it was her superpower.

Her father, despite his best efforts, could never quite get the proportions right. His pancake stacks were always a bit lopsided.

"We should put this [the acceptance letter] in a frame so I can hang it in my office and brag to everyone who walks in," he joked.

She stared at him, cheeks bulging with pancake, as if he were crazy. After swallowing, she complained, "Dad, you're so embarrassing!"

"I'm only teasing. But I hope you know how proud I am of you."

Tears formed in Keeley's eyes as she nodded. There was so little to be proud of in her previous life. She had given up on a good school, never used her degree, and drifted further and further from him as she tried to fit into Aaron's world. She wouldn't let him down this time.

"I'll do even better, Dad, I promise. I'm going to go all the way and become a researcher for Kaleb."

A lump formed in his throat as he witnessed his only remaining child's earnestness. Keeley reminded him so much of her mother.

"I'm sure he would love that, honeybun. Should we visit their graves while we're out today and share the good news?"

Keeley couldn't remember the last time she had visited her family's graves in either of her lives. She nodded. "That's a great idea."

"We'll make a day of it. Get dressed once you're finished."

He shut the door behind him as she rushed to finish her breakfast. After brushing her teeth, she put on jeans, a long-sleeved teal shirt, and a beige beaded scarf.

As she put her phone in her pocket, Keeley noticed a missed message from the night before: 'An echo. I win. Got any more?' The message was followed by an advertisement for NovelFire.net.

Ugh. Hadn't she told Aaron to leave her alone? She never should have responded. She would block his number if she didn't think he would cause another scene at school.

He had to get out of her head! Today was for family and her future. There was no room in her life for him anymore.

The cemetery wasn't near a subway stop, so they drove, singing along to one of her dad's classic rock CDs.

When they arrived, it was quiet and peaceful, with few other visitors. They walked to the middle of the plots where their loved ones were buried.

The first headstone was for a couple: Robert Joseph Hall, February 3, 1964— and Monica Krelman Hall, April 17, 1967—July 28, 2001. The smaller headstone next to it read: Kaleb Andrew Hall, December 11, 1990—July 28, 2001.

"Hi Mom. Hi Kal," Keeley whispered, setting down the flowers and crouching in front of the graves. Her father placed his hands on her shoulders as she spoke.

"I got into NYU yesterday. The applicant pool was huge, and I still made it! I'm going to work hard and become a geneticist so I can help kids like you, Kaleb! If you were here…you'd probably call me a nerd."

She sniffled, then laughed. "We're going to check out the campus today. I wish you could be here. I would've gotten you an NYU baseball cap. You always loved baseball…"

Keeley broke down crying. Kaleb would be fifteen now. She used to complain about going to baseball games with him. She would give anything to hear him talk about players' stats now. Her father's grip tightened.

"It's okay, honeybun. I'm sure he watches all the Yankees games from heaven," he said thickly. "He would be proud of you. So would your mother. You hear that, Mon? Our daughter is brilliant, just like you."

He traced his late wife's name on the gravestone.

They hugged, trying to dry their tears. It was supposed to be a happy day, but missing family members made it bittersweet. Eventually, Robert helped his daughter up.

"Come on, we should go if we want to get to the bookstore before it closes."

Keeley accepted his help and glanced back at the graves as they walked away. A horrible thought struck her, and she almost laughed bitterly.

What happened to her body after she died? Had she been buried here, or did Aaron have her cremated? He certainly didn't care about her in life. He wouldn't have buried her in his family plot, since he'd filed for divorce, but it would be too kind of him to return her to her loved ones. Maybe he never claimed her body at all.

A shudder ran through her. Her thoughts were too morbid. Thinking about the past was useless. She was alive, and that's what mattered. The advertisement for NovelFire.net was removed.