Then Celeste approached with a woman carrying a camera. "Daniel, stand beside me," she instructed. "Emma can hold the cake between us. This will be the family photograph for the announcement." Daniel said there was no announcement today. Celeste kept smiling as though he had made a joke and whispered that they could discuss it afterward. Emma came obediently to stand between them. At the last second, she slipped her hand into Daniel's. The photographer told her to look happy, and she raised the corners of her mouth without changing her eyes. Later, Daniel would look at that photograph and wonder how he could have missed the tension in her small fingers.
The party went on. Emma opened a remote-control car from a classmate and a set of watercolor paints from Daniel's shop assistant. Celeste presented her with an expensive bracelet, a slim gold chain with a tiny initial charm, and held Emma's wrist up for the photographer. The adults applauded. Emma thanked her politely, then reached for Daniel's hand again. He had intended to give her Hannah's necklace in private, but Celeste's insistence that the bracelet was a symbol of their new family changed his mind. If he waited, Emma might think there was something shameful about the old necklace. He would not teach her that lesson through silence.
"I've got one more gift," he said, stepping closer. Emma turned toward him with the cautious hope he had begun to recognize. He handed her the navy-blue box. "Your mom wanted you to have this when you turned ten. I promised her I'd remember." The words caught in his throat, but he managed a smile. "Happy birthday, Em." Emma opened the lid. The silver star shone against the dark velvet, familiar from photographs and a hundred stories. She touched it with one fingertip. Tears gathered instantly in her eyes, and Daniel thought, for a heartbeat, that she was simply overwhelmed.
Then she looked past him toward Celeste. "Dad," she whispered, "am I allowed to have this?"
Several people close enough to hear exchanged puzzled glances. Daniel crouched so that his face was level with hers. "Of course you are. It's yours." Emma swallowed hard. "But Celeste said Mom's things shouldn't come into this house. She said if I kept bringing them up, you might get tired of having a family." Daniel felt the ground shift beneath him. He waited for Celeste to laugh and explain a misunderstanding, but her arms folded tighter. Her expression carried irritation, not surprise.
"Emma," Celeste said sharply, "that is not what I meant. We talked about being considerate of people's feelings. Put the old necklace away. There are guests here, and you've already received a beautiful piece of jewelry." She gestured toward the gold bracelet. "Honestly, after everything that's been done for you, a little gratitude wouldn't hurt."