"It's weird," she says thoughtfully. "I wasn't there long, I guess, but it's still strange to meet someone who was there before I was." Not just there, but there and gone. For the most part, she doesn't know what to make of it, how time doesn't seem to matter in quite the same way.

It makes her wonder if Dale couldn't come forward, come to her. Or if she even wants that anymore. It's confusing, not as comforting a thought as she thought it would be.