She climbed beside him without asking.
For several minutes they lay in silence.
Then Lily whispered, “Are you mad at me?”
Michael turned so quickly the pillow fell to the floor.
“What?”
“For stopping the wedding.”
Michael’s heart broke in a completely new place.
“No.”
“But everyone had to go home.”
“I don’t care.”
“And the cake?”
“I especially don’t care about the cake.”
Lily looked at him.
“It was chocolate.”
“That complicates things.”
A tiny smile appeared.
Michael touched her hair.
“Lily, listen to me. You did not ruin anything.”
“She said I would.”
“Vanessa?”
Lily nodded.
“When?”
“Before.”
Michael kept his voice calm.
“How many times?”
She shrugged.
“Sometimes.”
“What did she say?”
Lily looked down.
“That if I kept making trouble, you would get tired.”
“Tired of what?”
“Me.”
Michael had to look away.
A father could hear many things and remain composed.
That was not one of them.
He took a breath before speaking.
“I will never get tired of being your dad.”
“But I make things hard.”
“So do I.”
“You do?”
“All the time.”
She considered this.
“You leave your coffee cups everywhere.”
Michael almost laughed.
“Exactly.”
“And you forget spirit day.”
“Once.”
“Twice.”
“That feels like unnecessary detail.”
Lily smiled again.
Then the smile vanished.
“Vanessa said grown-ups need time without kids.”
“That can be true.”
“She said sometimes dads get new families.”
Michael looked at her.
“And what did you think she meant?”
Lily’s eyes filled.
“That I was the old one.”
Michael pulled her into his arms.
She cried against him.
He let her.
He did not tell her to be brave.
He did not tell her everything was fine.
Everything was not fine.
When she calmed, Michael asked one more question.
“Did Vanessa ever hurt you?”
Lily hesitated.
Michael felt fear rush through him.
“Lil?”
“Not like hitting.”
“What happened?”
“She squeezed my arm.”
“When?”
“When I told Grandma I didn’t want Vanessa to pick me up from school.”
“Did it hurt?”
“A little.”