Lily crossed her arms. “Then he’s stupid.”
Nora nodded. “And rude, Mama.”
At fourteen, Gia tried to reappear.
Not with words.
With money.
A birthday card addressed only to “the girls.” A check tucked neatly inside.
Lily opened it first. “Well, that’s rude.”
Nora looked at the number and inhaled sharply. “That’s also… a lot of money.”
I tore it in half.
Clean. Final.
“Mama,” Nora said softly. “That was a lot of money.”
“Yes,” I said. “And this is a lot of principle. She hasn’t been part of your lives. She doesn’t get to start now.”
Lily leaned back. “I respect that… but I’d like to point out that college exists. And it’s expensive.”
I pointed at her. “Do not be reasonable with me when I am making a point.”
They both smiled.
I laughed with them.
Then cried later.
Quietly.
Alone.
There were things I never told them.
Bills I stared at too long.
The week I thought we might lose the house.
The medical charge that just… disappeared after Nora hurt her knee.
I called those things luck.
Because I didn’t have the strength to ask what they really were.
And then suddenly—
Time moved.
Leave a Comment