Chapter 10
Lily lost her first tooth on a Tuesday morning.
It happened while she was eating toast. She held the tiny tooth in her palm and stared at it as though she had made it herself.
“Daddy needs to see this.”
“He’s coming after work,” I told her.
“That’s too long.”
She insisted we call him. Nathan answered between meetings and listened while she described exactly how much the tooth had wobbled.
“Are you brave?” he asked.
“I tried,” she said.
I heard him laugh. It was what he had told her the day of the cheek swab.
At school, Lily told everyone her father would help her choose where to put the tooth that night. She said it without lowering her voice or checking my face.
That small certainty stayed with me all day.
My work at the hotel had become something I looked forward to. I liked solving problems, training new staff, and going home knowing Lily would find me there. My mother had started taking an afternoon art class. On Thursdays, she showed Lily what she had painted, and Lily offered firm advice.
Our lives were full of ordinary plans. I had once been afraid to make them.
Nathan came over after work with a little wooden box for Lily’s tooth. She examined the lid and declared it perfect. Then she asked him to read the bear book.
I watched them from the kitchen while I finished dinner.
He no longer sat as if he were afraid she might vanish. She no longer had to wonder whether he would come back.
After Lily went to bed, Nathan helped me wash the dishes.
“Daniel called,” he said. “The last civil claim connected to Northbridge was settled today.”
I dried my hands. “Is that good?”
“It means the families who were followed will receive compensation. The company is changing how it approves security work. I wish I’d asked the right questions years ago.”
“You’re asking them now.”
He nodded.
The criminal cases had been resolved. Victoria remained subject to the court’s order. Charles could no longer reach us through a company account or a hired stranger. I knew I would remember what happened, but I could finally let Lily walk into her classroom without searching every face.
Nathan set down a plate.
“I found a box of your letters,” he said. “Daniel finished returning the ones the police didn’t need.”
My breath caught.
“Would you like to read them with me sometime?” he asked.
“Not tonight.”
“All right.”
“Maybe soon.”
He reached for my hand. I took it.
We had started spending more time together after Lily’s birthday. We went to dinner once without her and spent half the evening talking about her anyway. A few weeks later, we tried again and found we still had things to say about ourselves.
I cared for him. I knew he cared for me. Neither of us needed to rush past the years we had lost.
“Stay for tea?” I asked.
“I’d like that.”
We sat at the kitchen table where Lily had left a drawing. It showed my mother, Nathan, Lily, and me under the same enormous sun. This time, each person had a name.
At the bottom, Lily had written HOME again. Her letters were steadier now.
“She asked me something yesterday,” Nathan said.
“What?”
“If I’d still be her daddy when she grows up.”
I looked at him. “What did you say?”
“I told her I’d be her daddy for her whole life. She could decide how much help she wanted from me when she was grown.”
“That sounds like her.”
“She asked whether I could still come to dinner.”
I smiled. “What did you tell her?”
“I said I hoped you’d both invite me.”
“You have an invitation.”
He squeezed my hand.
A soft noise came from the hallway. Lily stood there in her pajamas, one hand on the wall.
“I can’t sleep.”
I opened my arms. She came to me, but after a moment she reached for Nathan too. He moved closer and let her settle between us.
“Does your tooth hurt?” I asked.
“No. I was thinking.”
“About what?”
“If I put the box under my pillow, will it fall?”
“We can find a safe spot,” Nathan said.
She considered that. “Will you both come?”
We carried the little box to her room. Nathan tucked it beneath the corner of her pillow while I pulled up her blanket.
Lily caught our hands before we could leave.
For a moment, I saw the kitchen floor again. I remembered how tightly I had held her and how frightened I had been of letting go.
Now she held both of us because she wanted us there.
“I love you, Mommy,” she said.
“I love you too.”
She turned to Nathan. “I love you, Daddy.”
His eyes filled.
“I love you, Lily.”
She smiled, satisfied, and closed her eyes.
Nathan and I stayed until her breathing grew slow and even. Then we went downstairs, leaving her door open the way she liked it.
In the morning, she would wake and find her tooth gone and a little note in its place. She would run to show us. We would make breakfast and probably be late getting dressed.
I looked back toward her room.
May you like
Lily was asleep in her own bed, in a home where she knew who would be there when she woke. I was safe enough to look forward to tomorrow.
Nathan took my hand, and together we turned off the kitchen light.
