Chapter 19
One year after the staircase, Lily asked for a party.
Not a big one.
Just cake, music, Mrs. Vale, Marcus, Daniel, Dr. Porter, and two friends from preschool.
“In the foyer,” she said.
I went still.
“The foyer?”
She nodded.
“Where my shoe fell.”
I crouched in front of her.
“You do not have to prove anything there.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
She looked toward the stairs.
“Because I want it to be a happy place too.”
So we made it one.
We covered the banister with ribbons.
We placed flowers on the steps.
We set a small table where Celeste had stood.
Lily wore both shoes proudly.
Pink ones with glitter buckles.
At first, she stayed close to me.
Then music started.
Her friends arrived.
Mrs. Vale brought a cake shaped like a house.
Marcus wore a party hat because Lily ordered it.
Daniel took pictures.
Real smiles.
No press.
No family council.
No fear dressed as tradition.
Halfway through the party, Lily walked to the bottom of the stairs.
The room quieted.
She looked back at me.
I nodded.
She climbed the first step.
Then the second.
Then all the way to the top.
My heart pounded, but I stayed still.
At the landing, she turned around.
“I’m not scared today,” she said.
Everyone clapped.
She laughed and ran back down, slower than usual because Mrs. Vale shouted, “Careful.”
Lily threw herself into my arms.
“I did it.”
“You did.”
“Did Mommy see?”
I looked at Emma’s portrait, now restored in the foyer where it belonged.
“Yes,” I whispered. “She saw.”
That night, after everyone left, Lily fell asleep on the sofa.
I carried her upstairs.
Her shoes stayed by the bed.
May you like
Both of them.
Together.
