At My Husband’s Funeral, I Placed a Rose in His Hands and Discovered the Note He Never Got to Give Me

as if he knew exactly what my mind would do, he added one more request.

Please don’t hate me before you know everything.

I folded the note quickly, pressing it into my purse as if it might burn through my skin. When I stepped back into the hallway, my sister Elaine was there, studying my face.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said softly.

“I just continue reading …