Chapter 10
A year later.
We were back home in Dallas, sitting on our back porch, watching the sun set. It was Lily’s 10th birthday. The whole family was there—Clara and Tom, Dr. Rao, Mia’s art friends, Lily’s spelling bee team, even Officer Torres and Ms. Lopez, the principal who’d helped us through the worst of it.
The backyard was decorated with pink and gold balloons. There was a big cake, shaped like a giant golden bee, with Lily’s name written in sparkly frosting. The kids were running around, screaming, playing tag, their laughter loud and bright.
Lily was in the middle of it all, wearing a sparkly dress, her national champion medal around her neck. She was taller now, her hair longer, her smile wider than ever. She’d just placed third at the national spelling bee that year, and she was already talking about winning it back the next.
Mia was sitting on the porch steps, talking to a boy from her art club, laughing at something he’d said. She was 16 now, beautiful, confident, the kind of girl who stood up for anyone who was being picked on, who never let anyone make her feel small. She’d just sold her first painting, for $500, to a local gallery. She was going to be amazing.
Clara was by the grill, flipping burgers, laughing as Tom tried to steal a hot dog before they were done. They were engaged now, getting married in the fall. We were all going to be in the wedding. Lily was the flower girl. Mia was the maid of honor.
James was standing by the cake, talking to Officer Torres, grinning like an idiot. He’d just been promoted to partner at his firm. He was happier than I’d ever seen him.
I looked around at all of them, at the people who’d become our family, the people who’d held us up when we couldn’t stand on our own.
I thought about that Sunday dinner, two and a half years before. About the fear, the anger, the pain. About how I’d thought our lives were over, that we’d never be happy again.
I thought about how wrong I’d been.
The bad things that had happened to us didn’t break us. They made us stronger. They made us closer. They taught us what really mattered—love, family, loyalty, the kind of people who show up for you, no matter what.
James walked over, putting his arm around my waist, handing me a glass of lemonade.
“Penny for your thoughts?” he said, smiling.
I smiled back, leaning into him.
“Just thinking about how lucky we are,” I said.
He nodded, looking out at the kids.
“We are,” he said. “So, so lucky.”
Someone yelled that it was time for cake. We all gathered around the table. Lily stood in front of the cake, her eyes closed, making a wish. She blew out the candles. Everyone cheered.
Later, after the party was over, after all the guests had gone home, after the girls were asleep in their beds, James and I sat on the porch again, just the two of us.
The house was quiet. The only sounds were the crickets, the wind in the trees, the distant hum of the city.
James took my hand, playing with the ring on my finger.
“Remember when we got married?” he said, quiet. “We promised we’d go through everything together. The good and the bad. I don’t think either of us knew how bad it would get.”
He looked at me, his eyes warm, full of love.
“But we did it,” he said. “We went through it all. And we came out the other side. Together.”
I squeezed his hand.
“Together,” I said.
We sat there for a long time, watching the stars come out over the Dallas skyline. No fear. No pain. No looking back.
Just us. Just our family. Just love, strong and steady, enough to last a lifetime.
May you like
And for the first time in my life, I knew, without a single doubt, that we were going to be okay.
Forever.
