Chapter 10
Six months later.
The sun was shining through the kitchen windows, warm and golden.
I stood at the stove, flipping pancakes. Blueberry. Lila’s favorite.
“Mama!” Lila yelled, running into the kitchen. “Hurry up! We’re gonna be late!”
She was wearing a frilly pink dress, her pigtails tied with blue ribbons. Her backpack was slung over one shoulder. Her unicorn was tucked under the other arm.
Today was her first day of second grade.
“Calm down, baby,” I said, laughing. “We have plenty of time.”
Nathaniel walked in, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck.
“Good morning, Mrs. Whitmore,” he said, smiling.
I smiled, twisting the wedding ring on my finger.
It still felt like a dream sometimes.
We’d gotten married a month after the trial. A small, quiet ceremony in the garden, with just the four of us and the judge who’d presided over Victoria’s case.
Eleanor had cried the whole time.
“Pancakes smell amazing,” Nathaniel said, stealing one off the plate.
“Hey!” I said, swatting his hand. “Those are for Lila.”
Eleanor rolled into the kitchen then, her walker steady beside her. She’d worked so hard in rehab. She could walk short distances now, with the walker. Her arm was fully healed. The bruises were long gone.
“Good morning, my darlings,” she said, smiling.
She walked over to Lila and adjusted her dress.
“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” she said. “Ready to take second grade by storm?”
Lila nodded, grinning so wide her cheeks hurt.
“Yep!” she said. “I’m gonna be the best reader in the whole class. Just like you taught me.”
Eleanor beamed.
We ate pancakes fast. Lila chattered the whole time about her new teacher. Her new classroom. The friends she was going to make.
When we were done, Nathaniel grabbed her backpack. Eleanor grabbed her purse. I grabbed Lila’s lunchbox.
We all piled into the car.
Nathaniel drove us to the school. He parked, and we all walked Lila to the front door.
She stopped before she went in. She turned around and hugged each of us tight.
“Bye, Mama,” she said, kissing my cheek. “Bye, Daddy. Bye, Grandma.”
Daddy.
She’d started calling Nathaniel that two months after we got married.
He’d cried for an hour when she first said it.
“Have fun, baby,” I said, brushing her hair back. “Be brave. Be kind. And remember—”
“I know, I know,” she said, giggling. “If anyone is mean to me, tell the teacher. And you’ll come get me right away.”
“Right,” I said.
She waved one last time and ran through the school doors, her pigtails bouncing.
We stood there for a long time, watching until she was gone.
Then we got back in the car.
Nathaniel drove us home.
When we walked in the front door, the house was quiet. Peaceful.
No threats. No fear. No Victoria.
Just us.
Eleanor went to the sunroom to read.
Nathaniel pulled me into the living room and sat down on the couch, pulling me onto his lap.
He kissed me, slow and soft.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you too,” I said.
I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat.
I thought about where I’d been a year ago.
A single mom, working two jobs, scared I’d never be able to give Lila the life she deserved. Scared every time she had an asthma attack that I wouldn’t be able to pay for her meds. Scared we’d end up on the street.
And now?
I was married to the most wonderful man in the world.
I had a mother-in-law who loved me like her own daughter.
My daughter was safe. Happy. Healthy. No more nightmares. No more asthma attacks from stress. She was thriving.
We had a beautiful home. A family.
Justice had been served. Victoria was in prison, where she belonged. She’d never hurt anyone ever again.
I felt completely safe.
Completely loved.
Completely confident that no matter what came next, we’d face it together.
Nathaniel kissed the top of my head.
“What are you thinking about?” he said.
I smiled, looking up at him.
“Just how perfect everything is,” I said.
He smiled back.
“It is, isn’t it?” he said.
Outside, the sun was shining. The birds were singing.
Somewhere, a lawnmower rumbled. A kid laughed.
It was just an ordinary, perfect day.
And there would be a thousand more just like it.
May you like
For all of us.
Together.
