Chapter 6
Weeks went by. No more knocks. No more calls.
Slowly, the tight knot in my chest began to loosen. We fell into a quiet, happy routine.
Then one afternoon, my husband’s sister Sarah showed up at the grocery store.
She looked nervous. She pushed her cart toward us.
“Can I talk to you?” she asked quietly. “Please? Away from Mom and Dad.”
We found a bench near the entrance.
“I didn’t say anything at the dinner,” she said, looking down at her hands. “I was scared. They cut me off for six months once because I disagreed with them about my wedding. I thought if I stayed quiet, I could still see you.”
She looked up at Lily, who was holding my hand.
“I’m sorry, Lily,” she said. “I should have told Grandma she was wrong. I should have stood up for you. You’re wonderful. And you are absolutely family.”
Lily stared at her for a second. Then she smiled a little. “Okay.”
Sarah turned to us. “Mom and Dad are miserable. They keep talking about you. But they refuse to admit they’re wrong. They think if they wait long enough, you’ll come crawling back.”
My husband sighed. “I’m not coming back until they apologize to Lily. Until they treat her like their granddaughter.”
“I know,” Sarah said. “And I’m on your side. All the way. I just… I wanted you to know.”
She hugged Lily gently. Then she hugged me.
May you like
“Take care of yourselves,” she said. “I’ll keep trying to get through to them.”
As we walked to the car, my husband squeezed my arm. “At least we have one of them.”
