Chapter 12 - THE THINGS AN APOLOGY COULDN’T FIX
Daniel held her while she cried.
He didn’t tell her to take a breath.
He didn’t ask her to calm down.
When the toaster popped, Kate quietly carried the blackened bread to the trash.
Lily’s words came in broken pieces.
“She said you were busy.”
“I was.”
“She said I made you sad when I talked about Mommy.”
“You didn’t.”
“She said if I told, you’d send me somewhere.”
Daniel pressed his cheek to her hair.
“I’m so sorry.”
Lily pulled back.
“Are you mad?”
“At what happened. Not at you.”
“Are you mad at Rosa?”
He took a moment.
“Yes.”
“She looked scared.”
“I think she was.”
Lily rubbed her sleeve across her face.
“I was scared, too.”
“I know.”
“She didn’t help.”
“No,” he said. “She didn’t.”
He wouldn’t ask Lily to excuse it.
The next morning, a counselor named Mara met them in a room with blocks, books, and a couch that didn’t look like a doctor’s office.
Mara spoke to Lily first.
“You get to decide where you sit.”
Lily chose the chair nearest the door.
Daniel noticed.
He wondered how many things he would begin noticing now that they hurt.
Later, Mara spoke with him privately.
“Don’t make her responsible for your guilt,” she said. “Apologize plainly. Then show up consistently.”
He nodded.
“She may ask the same questions over and over.”
“I’ll answer.”
“She may be angry with you.”
“She should be.”
Mara held his gaze.
“She’s allowed to be. You need to make room for that without asking her to take care of you.”
On the drive back, Lily looked out the window.
“Are we going to the big house?”
“Only when you’re ready.”
“Is Vanessa there?”
“No.”
“Will she come back?”
“She won’t be allowed around you while we work through this.”
Lily nodded.
At a red light, Daniel’s phone rang through the car speakers.
Vanessa’s name flashed on the dashboard.
He disconnected it immediately.
Lily had already seen.
Her breathing changed.
He pulled into a parking lot and turned off the engine.
“You don’t have to talk to her.”
The phone rang again.
Then a message arrived.
Tell Lily I forgive her.
May you like
Daniel stared at the screen.
Beside him, his daughter whispered, “For what?”
