Chapter 6
Lily's seventh birthday.
She wanted a party. Big. With all her friends. With a cake. With a pinata. With a bounce house.
We had it. In the backyard. Twenty kids. Screaming. Running. Eating cake. Lily was in the middle of it all, laughing, loud, happy.
Mason was there too. He was ten now. He helped with the games. He carried the cake. He broke the pinata. He was — the best big brother.
Sarah was pregnant again. A girl this time. Due in the spring. Lily was thrilled. Mason pretended not to care, but I saw him reading baby books.
After the party, after all the kids left, after the mess was cleaned up, Lily came to me. She was tired. Full of cake. Happy.
"Daddy," she said. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything, baby."
"Why did Vanessa hate me?"
I sat down. I pulled her onto my lap. I thought about how to answer.
"She didn't hate you, baby. She was — sick. In her head. She didn't know how to love. She didn't know how to be kind. That's not your fault. That's hers."
Lily was quiet. Then she said, "I don't hate her. I feel sorry for her. Because she never got to have a family like this."
I held her tighter. My daughter. Six years old. Wise beyond her years. Forgiving. Kind. Everything Vanessa never was.
"You're amazing, you know that?" I said.
She smiled. "I know. You tell me every day."
She went to bed. I sat on the porch. Sarah came out. She put her head on my shoulder.
"Penny for your thoughts," she said.
"I was thinking about that night," I said. "The slap. The pantry. Mason's secret. I was thinking — if I'd come home five minutes later, I might not have seen it. I might not have known. I might have lost her."
Sarah squeezed my hand. "But you didn't. You came home. You saw. You saved them. That's what matters."
I leaned my head against hers. "I love you."
"I love you too."
May you like
Inside, the kids were asleep. Daniel — the baby — was stirring in his crib. The house was quiet. Peaceful. Safe.
And I thought — this is what I'd been working for. This is what I'd almost lost. This is what I'd saved.
