Chapter 2
My mother opened her front door before I reached the porch.
Lily ran to her and burst into tears. Mom held her close, looking over Lily’s head at me.
I shook my head. I couldn’t explain it in front of Lily.
Inside, Lily sat at the kitchen table while Mom made her toast. She had refused food at the airport. Now she picked at the crust and asked whether Ben had made his flight.
“No,” I said. “I canceled all three tickets.”
“Was he mad?”
“I think he was confused.”
Lily nodded as though that was something she understood.
My phone rang. Sarah.
I let it go to voicemail, then called Naomi back. I sent her screenshots of the booking history, the cancellation date, and the credit applied to Ben’s upgrade.
“Is Lily your daughter from your first marriage?” Naomi asked.
“Yes. I have full custody. Her mother died when she was three.”
Naomi went quiet for a moment.
“Take your time before discussing the marriage with Lily,” she said. “She needs to know where she’ll sleep tonight. The rest can wait.”
That was good advice. Lily had already lost one parent. I did not want her lying awake, wondering who would disappear next.
Naomi told me Sarah could not simply decide where Lily lived or who cared for her. She also told me to document what had happened and keep our messages. We made an appointment for the next morning.
When I came back into the kitchen, Lily was showing Mom the camera from her suitcase. It was still wrapped in its cardboard sleeve.
“I was going to take a picture for you,” she told Mom.
Mom smiled, though her eyes were wet. “I would have liked that.”
Sarah called again. This time I stepped onto the porch and answered.
“Where are you?” she demanded.
“Lily and I are at Mom’s.”
“Ben is crying. You embarrassed us in front of everyone.”
“Sarah, you told Lily she was going on vacation. There was no ticket.”
“I thought we could sort it out once we got there.”
“How would she have gotten there?”
She exhaled sharply. “You’re making me sound cruel.”
I leaned against the porch railing. “Tell me what your plan was.”
“My sister might have taken her for the week.”
“Did you ask your sister?”
A long pause.
“You always take Lily’s side.”
“She’s ten. She was standing at a check-in counter with a packed suitcase.”
Sarah changed her tone. “Come home. Let’s talk without all this anger.”
I looked through the window. Lily had her head against Mom’s shoulder.
“We’re staying here tonight.”
Sarah said I would regret letting my mother interfere. I ended the call.
That evening, Ben sent me a message.
I didn’t know she canceled Lily. Mom said Grandma was picking her up before we left. I’m sorry.
I read it twice, then called him.
“Hey, Ben.”
“Is Lily okay?”
“She’s with my mom. She’s having a hard day.”
“I smiled when the lady said three tickets. I thought Mom got us better seats.” His voice broke. “Lily saw me.”
“You can explain that to her when she’s ready to hear it.”
“Do you hate me?”
“No.”
He breathed out. I heard a door close on his end, then Sarah calling his name.
“I have to go,” he whispered.
“Ben, whatever happens between the adults, I care about you.”
“I know,” he said, sounding uncertain. Then he hung up.
For four years, I had helped Ben with homework and driven him to soccer. I couldn’t stop being worried about him because I was angry with his mother.
I also couldn’t ask Lily to comfort him.
After dinner, Mom helped Lily into the guest room. The bed still had the quilt my grandmother had made, with tiny blue flowers sewn into each square.
I found Lily sitting on top of it, fully dressed, her pink suitcase open beside her.
“Do I need to unpack?” she asked.
“For tonight, just what you need.”
“Will Sarah be here tomorrow?”
“No.”
Lily studied my face. “Are you divorcing her?”
I sat beside her. “I don’t know everything that will happen yet. I do know you and I will stay together.”
“She said I was making the trip expensive.”
“When did she say that?”
“Last week. I asked if I could bring my camera. She told me I should be grateful I was going at all.”
I felt heat rise in my chest.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“She said it was our secret.”
I held her hand. “You never have to keep a secret about how an adult treats you.”
Lily stared at the quilt.
“There was another time,” she said. “I heard her talking to Ben about the seats. She said she’d finally fixed the problem.”
“What did you think she meant?”
“I thought she meant she fixed my seat.”
She opened her suitcase and pulled out a folded drawing. Four people stood beside a blue ocean, holding hands. She had drawn Ben between her and Sarah.
“I made this for her,” Lily said.
I didn’t tell her to throw it away. She had loved Sarah, and she had drawn the family she believed she had.
I tucked the drawing back into the suitcase and kissed her forehead.
When she was asleep, I checked my email for earlier travel confirmations. I found the original receipt with all four names, sent months ago. Under it was a message from Sarah dated three weeks earlier.
Change completed. Don’t mention the seats to David yet.
It was addressed to the travel agent Sarah had used.
May you like
I opened the rest of the thread. Sarah had asked a question before canceling Lily’s ticket.
If I remove Lily, will her father receive a notification?
