arrived without warning.
They ate everything in my refrigerator.
They argued constantly.
They were exactly what I needed.
Sophie leaned against me.
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Did Uncle Daniel make Daddy leave?”
I looked at her.
“No.”
She thought about that.
“Then who did?”
I smiled faintly.
“We did.”
Her eyebrows pulled together.
“How?”
“The moment we stopped being afraid to leave.”
Sophie looked toward the yard.
Then back at me.
“Is Daddy still mad?”
“No.”
That wasn’t entirely true.
But it wasn’t what she was really asking.
“Is Vanessa coming back?”
