Nobody came to greet her.
Nobody crouched to say hello.
Nobody kissed her cheek or asked how she was feeling after being abandoned in a storm.
That, more than anything, hardened me.
Lily moved closer to my side until her leg pressed against mine.
My father cleared his throat.
“Can we handle this calmly?” he asked, as if calm were something he had any right to request.
My mother folded the towel and placed it neatly on the counter.
“You embarrassed us with those cancellations,” she said. “Your father’s mortgage payment was returned. The insurance portal says our policy is under review. Miranda’s tuition transfer didn’t go through.”
Not one word about Lily.
Not one.
I looked directly at her.
“You left my daughter standing in the rain.”
My mother’s jaw tightened.
“We told you already, there was no space.”
Miranda finally looked up, offended on cue.
“There literally wasn’t. The kids had their booster seats, Dean was meeting us later, and Mom said Lily could walk because it’s not that far.”
Lily’s fingers clenched around mine.
I could feel the tiny pressure of each one.
I turned to Miranda.
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