We Met in Kindergarten

<p>They called it the Republic of Later-half joke half promise-made by kids who thought they'd always come back.</p><p>Now Ione Bexley <em>has</em> come back and nothing is simple. The old rowhouse is buckling. A developer is circling. And the people she once loved are standing in doorways with unfinished sentences and truths she never asked to hear. Cassian returns with a paper bird and a mistake he's finally ready to own. Bram shows up with tools and regret. Neighbors arrive with paint-streaked hands and their own stake in the place.</p><p>As fundraising jars fill and pressure rises the house becomes a test: of memory of loyalty of what a community is willing to fight for when a second chance finally arrives.</p><p>Will Ione save the promise they made-or let someone else rewrite it?</p>