"They teach you in driver's ed to check your vehicle before you drive. You didn't check. That's on you, not anyone else."
"My mom just played an April Fools' prank. She messed with the brakes, that's all. You're the one who got behind the wheel and killed our daughter."
The three of them threw me out of the house. I stumbled through the streets in a daze and fell into the river.
When I opened my eyes again, it was April Fools' Day.
I didn't expose Zoe's little prank this time.
Because Memorial Day was right around the corner, and I had something special planned for my dear mother-in-law.
I.
"You should head out soon. Any later and you'll hit traffic."
Zoe Ball held the car keys out to me, her face arranged into a warm, kindly smile.
But if you looked closely, you'd see it.
The smile never reached her eyes. What lived there instead was pure, giddy malice, the gleam of someone waiting for a show.
I didn't look at her. My gaze was fixed on the wall calendar. The date was printed in bold: April 1st. April Fools' Day.
I understood. I had been reborn.
Reborn on the very day my car was destroyed and my daughter was killed.